


We Meet Again

by PrincessTreacle



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Lemons, Minor Character Death, Romance, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:00:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 41,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23545030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessTreacle/pseuds/PrincessTreacle
Summary: What if Penelope met Luke before he joined the BAU? This is that story. A one-shot for joyfulluv143.
Relationships: Luke Alvez/Penelope Garcia
Comments: 58
Kudos: 268





	1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

We Meet Again

Penelope smiled as the cat she was playing with batted its paw at the toy she was waving above its head. Simon had come a long way from when he first came in. He was terrified of everyone and everything, he was severely malnourished and covered in fleas. Four months later and he was starting to look and act like a cat. He was all black with the most gorgeous hazel eyes. Penelope was seriously thinking about putting in an adoption application for him.

There was a knock on the door and she turned to see Mickey giving her a wave and a smile. Penelope waved her in.

"He's doing great, isn't he?" Mickey said as she entered the small kennel and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah," Penelope answered. "I can't believe it's the same cat."

"It's all thanks to you."

Penelope shrugged her shoulders. "It wasn't just me. The vets helped so much."

"Yeah - but you've worked with him every time you've come in. It's you he trusts."

Both women watched Simon in silence for a few seconds before Penelope stood up. It was getting late and she needed to get home.

"So - I have a favour…" Mickey said and Penelope resisted the urge to smirk. She knew that was a reason she found her.

"Next weekend we have a new volunteer coming to help out and I wondered if you would show him the ropes?"

"Sure," Penelope responded. "What time is he coming in?"

"About ten - he's coming to my office first so I can get him registered and then we can come and find you."

"Sounds good," Penelope confirmed as they headed to the staff room.

When they got into the dreary room, she opened up her locker and pulled her bag out. When she looked at her phone to see if anyone had texted her, she sighed.

Three texts and a missed call from Kevin.

"Trouble in paradise?" Mickey asked from across the room.

"It's just Kevin," she told her, sparing a glance at her friend. "He keeps saying he thinks he has left things at my house and needs to come over."

Mickey giggled. "Poor Kevin - he's so in love with you. Why did you two break up again?"

"He wanted marriage and I didn't." She shrugged her shoulders.

She could feel Mickey's glance at her from across the room and she did her best to ignore it. She didn't want or need her pity. When Kevin and she broke up she almost felt a sense of relief. He was nice, sweet and funny… but she couldn't see a future with him.

Once Penelope had gathered all of her things, she turned to Mickey. "Have a good night."

"You too," Mickey said as she watched the blonde leave.

Penelope quickly walked to her and got inside, turning the engine over and heading home.

At home, she made herself some dinner (just a microwaveable vegetarian lasagna and a side salad), got changed into some comfy clothes and got out her Nintendo - a night of playing Animal Crossing was on the cards.

When she curled up into bed that night, she couldn't help but think that a furry black cat on the end of the bed might make things a little better.

* * *

The next week went by fairly quickly. The team dealt with two cases, both of them getting solved within a matter of days and both resulting in a good outcome. Her, JJ and Prentiss all went out for drinks and a meal midweek which was lovely and she got to babysit Henry when JJ and Will went out for a date night.

On Saturday, she got to the rescue centre and when she had parked up, she headed inside.

She stopped off into the staff room and checked the clock on the wall; she had about half an hour before she was meant to meet the new volunteer so she headed down to the cattery to see Simon.

When she entered his kennel, he greeted her as he did most times she entered by jumping off his cat tree and rubbing himself all over her legs. She reached down and rubbed his furry head.

"How you doing, little man?" she asked, loving just how friendly he had become with her. There was still some way to go. He didn't like being picked up and with strangers could come across as aggressive but he had time. The shelter would give him as much time as he needed and only adopt him out when he was one hundred per cent ready, even if they were already receiving applications for him.

She sat on the floor and he crawled all over her, purring and snuggling into her lap, just enjoying her company.

After a while, there was a knock on the door and Penelope saw Mickey stood on the other side. She stood up and wiped the fur off her clothes and went outside.

Her eyes landed on Mickey and then moved to the figure next to her.

_Jeez_.

The new volunteer was a very handsome male. He was about six foot two, tanned skin with black hair and brown eyes that resembled melted chocolate. He smiled at her and revealed two dimples on either side of his mouth and she just wanted to kiss them. He was wearing a blue plaid shirt with the buttons open and a white undershirt underneath, allowing her to make out the slightest hint of some very nice muscles. His legs were clad in dark jeans and he had boots on his feet. Everything about him made her heart beat fast and she suddenly became very aware that if she continued to look at him much longer she might break out in a sweat from the physical exertion of trying not to throw herself at him.

Thankfully, Mickey chose that moment to introduce them.

"Penelope Garcia, this is Luke Alvez - our newest volunteer."

"Hi," she greeted, reaching out with a shaky hand. When he took hers in his, she struggled to remember how to breathe.

"Hey," he greeted back. Even his voice was sexy. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," she squeaked out, breath struggling to enter her lungs.

Mickey turned to Luke and Penelope released his hand from hers, immediately noticing its absence.

"Penelope here is going to show you around and show you how we do things around here. It's not too complicated so I'm sure you'll get the hang of it." She gave him a sweet smile and turned back to Penelope.

"Come and get me if you need me." With that, she turned on her heel and walked off.

Luke and Penelope both looked at each other before Penelope felt the urge to say something.

"Let me show you to the kennels."

"Lead the way," Luke said before he gave her a blinding smile.

_Those dimples would be the death of her._

Walking down the hallway towards the dog kennels, Penelope became very aware of what she was wearing. Usually, she didn't dress up too fancy when she came the rescue - why would she? But as she looked down at her light blue dress and white sneakers she felt…conscious.

She smoothed the front of her dress down and reminded herself to breathe evenly.

"So," she started, turning to face him slightly as she walked. "Tell me a little bit about yourself."

"There's not much to tell," he began. "I used to be in the Army Rangers - I only came out a couple of months ago - I grew up in New York and I have no siblings. You?"

"I have four step-brothers, I work for the FBI and I grew up in San Francisco."

"You work for the FBI - that's cool. I'm looking into the police at the minute but I don't know if it's for me."

"You'll find the job that's right for you," she reassured him.

When the reached the kennels, she pushed open the heavy door and was immediately greeted by barking.

She turned to Luke once more. "It can get quite loud in here," she told him with a grin.

He grinned back.

"Alright, alright!" She shouted. "Settle down!" Most of the dogs did as they were told and calmed down.

"It's just cause you're new," she reassured him. "Once they get to know you, they won't make a noise when you come in."

Luke looked around at all the kennels that were filled. "I didn't realise there were so many here."

"Believe it or not, this is not considered full." It was sad but true. "We only have about thirty dogs here at the minute and fifteen cats. That's nothing. Around Christmas is when it gets bad."

The rescue was only small but took in as many animals as they could and helped every single one of them with whatever problems they had.

"I could never imagine giving up a pet," Luke said sadly. "I want a dog but want to volunteer here first to make sure I'm suited for one."

Penelope nodded her head. "That's a good idea."

She led Luke over to the supplies cart that was in the corner of the room.

"We generally start by cleaning the kennels first and then once that it is done we take the dogs out for a little one on one time."

Luke nodded.

She handed him a poop scoop. "This job isn't one if you don't like getting mucky."

He grinned at her. "I've been in Iraq covered in sweat and sand - I'm used to mucky."

The image of him covered in sweat made her heart race and she was pretty sure it was seared onto her brain. He'd look good sweaty.

Penelope pointed to the far side of the room. "We'll start over there and work our way back. Then we can start getting the dogs out for their walks."

Luke nodded and followed her over to the far side kennels.

"These little whiteboards on the kennel doors tell you the dog names and any special requirements that they have."

"For example," Penelope began as she knelt next to a kennel. "This is Apple." Apple was a black Labrador cross Border Collie and was one of the sweetest dogs that Penelope had ever met. "She has some slight anxiety issues but you just have to move slowly around her."

Listening to her words, Luke knelt next to the kennel and through the wire, he offered Apple the back of his hand to sniff.

The black dog leaned against Penelope through the wire and carefully sniffed Luke's hand.

Seeing as she had done that, Luke reached his fingers through and gently stroked her side. "Good girl," he cooed softly.

Apple's tail began to wag as she dropped to the floor and rolled over, exposing her stomach.

"There you go!" Penelope praised, giving her a full-on belly tickle as Luke chuckled. "She's going to be going to her new home in a few days. There's a really sweet elderly couple who came in to see her last weekend and they just fell in love with her. One of the other volunteers is going to do a home check tomorrow and then if that all goes well she'll be off."

"Do you have a home?" Luke asked her excitedly, tickling her chin and just generally giving her love.

That's when Penelope realised that nothing made a heartbeat faster than seeing a handsome man tickle a sweet dog.

_Boy was she in trouble_.

Penelope stood up from the kennel and drew some much-needed air into her lungs.

"Don't worry about feeding the dogs; that's done first thing in the morning and last thing at night." She looked around, not wanting him to see her red face. "Um… I think that's everything. Cleaning supplies are on the cart - if you have any questions, just ask."

Luke nodded and thanked her and then they began to clean the kennels in companionable silence.

Penelope noticed what a good worker he was. He worked quickly but thoroughly and the dogs all seemed to like him - even the shy ones that usually didn't take to anyone.

As they worked, they chatted quietly. She learnt he joined the Rangers because of his dad's history with the police and he thought his mom had the most intimidating stare. During his time in Iraq, he'd worked with bomb dogs and that made him want one now and he thoughts getting a canine companion would help him adjust to life outside the army. He wasn't one for modern music but he did like jazz and he couldn't cook to save his life.

Nothing she learnt about him put her off, which irritated her a little.

Once they had cleaned the kennels and walked the dogs, Penelope found herself laughing with him and joking, even flirting. When she caught herself she felt her face flame and she became so embarrassed. She wasn't looking for anything - so why was she acting like a teenager?

They had lunch together in the staff room where Luke tried some of her vegetarian chilli (he said it was quite nice) and she wrote down the recipe for him.

"You do realise I can't cook right? My friend Phil says I am the worst cook he has ever come across."

Penelope giggled. "We all have to learn somewhere."

"If I try this I'll burn my house down!" He paused and glanced at her. "You'll just have to come over to make sure I'm safe."

She bit her lip and tried to suppress the smile. "I'm sure I could do that."

* * *

Two weeks later and that is exactly what Penelope found herself doing. She stood against the counter, watching as Luke mixed everything in the frying pan.

"See, you're doing just fine," she encouraged before she took a sip of her wine.

"Only because you're here to supervise." He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and she hid her smile behind her wine glass.

Luke had been a hit at the shelter, with both humans, dogs and cats alike.

He'd come across a twelve week old Belgian Tervuren that he was looking into adopting. Her name was Roxy and her owners had surrendered her to the shelter not long after getting her as they found her to have too much energy. She just had the normal amount of energy for a puppy in Penelope's opinion so she was pleased that she might have found a good home.

"How are things with Simon?"

Just hearing the name made her smile. Penelope had officially brought Simon home a week ago and he was settling in so well. He already had a favourite spot on the couch and loved to sleep right next to her in the bed.

"He's doing really well," she said. "He loves the scratching toy you brought him."

Luke smiled. "It wasn't anything big." And it wasn't. Just a piece of corrugated cardboard shaped like a fish, but he loved it.

"He still loves it."

Luke and Penelope shared a look (they'd been doing that a lot lately) and when the food in the pan began to simmer, Luke's eyes got wide.

"It's alright," she soothed. "Pop it into this bowl and we can eat it." Penelope handed him over a large white bowl and watched as he emptied the pan into the bowl before putting it to soak in the sink.

Penelope checked to make sure everything they needed was on the table and when it was, she went over.

Before she could sit down, she felt one of Luke's warm hands on her back.

As she glanced up at him he smiled. "Let me." He reached out in front of her and pulled the chair out for her, gesturing with his hand for her to sit.

She did so with a blush on her face.

Dinner was beautiful. Luke had done well and when she told him so, he grinned and did a little bow.

"I couldn't have done it without you," he told her.

"The more you cook the easier it gets."

Luke shook his head. "I've been trying to cook since I was seventeen; I think it's gotten harder."

Penelope giggled.

After dinner, Penelope helped Luke wash up and then they sat together in the living room.

"My mom will be so pleased I can now cook one decent meal. I'm sure she thinks that I'm going to starve one of these days."

"Well I expect to get some of the credit," she teased.

"Oh definitely," he reassured her, his brown eyes glinting with delight.

They both just stared at each for a moment, taking the other person in as they enjoyed the silence and companionship.

"You're very beautiful," Luke told her and Penelope immediately felt her whole body flame. "Sorry, I've wanted to tell you since I first saw you." He looked down into his lap and then shyly met her eyes.

"I thought you were pretty handsome when I first saw you too," Penelope admitted. "It was those dimples that got me."

Feeling emboldened, she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, her thumb slipping into the dimple dent.

Luke's eyes darkened and her mouth went dry.

His eyes darted down to her lips and then back up to her eyes.

She licked her lips.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked.

She didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes."

Luke smiled and moved forward as she gripped his face and their lips met.

_Perfection_.

His lips were soft against hers and they slanted every so slightly, capturing her top lip between both of his.

They kissed and kissed and kissed - until neither of them had any breath in their body.

His arms were locked around her waist, holding her close to him as hers moved from his face to his neck, pulling him closer.

When Luke pulled away to breathe, Penelope decided she didn't want him to go far and pressed her lips to his tan neck, tasting the salt that sat there.

He groaned and let his head fall back, encouraging her to explore more of his skin.

She didn't need encouragement and began to make her way to the top buttons of his shirt that were open. She kissed the small amount of chest that she could reach before moving her hands to his buttons and slowly revealing more of his skin to her.

Luke's hands squeezed her hips as she kissed down his chest, swirling her tongue over the hard muscles that were exposed to her eyes.

As she started to kiss her way back up his chest, his hands moved to her face and he pulled her up, pressing hips lips fervently to hers.

Then, much as she did to him, he worked his way down her body, kissing her neck and chest as his fingers reached the side of her dress and he slipped the zipper down.

He raised his head and used his nose to nudge the straps down her arms, planting kisses across her shoulders.

"Your skin is so smooth," he mumbled, lost in the feelings.

Her fingers tangled in his hair as he pulled her dress down and exposed her simple black cotton bra.

She whimpered when he moved closer to her breasts.

Luke's roving mouth slipped into the valley between her breasts and his tongue laved at the skin, goosebumps appearing in its wake.

When one hand of his slipped to her back he glanced up at hers.

"May I?"

Again, she didn't hesitate. "Yes."

He grinned and unclasped her bra, letting the material go slack against her body before he pulled the straps slowly down her arms. When they got to the crooks of her elbows, his finger slipped underneath the middle of her bra and he looked at her once more.

She nodded and held her breath.

Luke pulled the material away from her skin, revealing her breasts.

Penelope closed her eyes and waited.

She didn't have to wait long.

Luke let out a groan and then dove in… literally.

His face was between her breasts, one hand moving up to grasp and pinch at her pretty pink nipple as his other grabbed a hold of her ass and pulled her body to his, letting her feel his hardness.

Penelope moaned and luxuriated in the feel of _him_. His tongue moved up to lave her lonely nipple; the tip stroking the peak of her breast before he closed his lips around it and sucked the rapidly heating flesh into his mouth.

"Luke…" she sighed, feeling utterly content and completely turned on at the same time.

She could feel his grin against her breast.

He kissed his way down her body, pulling her dress down until it pooled at her feet and she kicked it off, her shoes coming off at the same time

She was finally left in her black cotton underwear with pink hearts on.

"Cute," Luke remarked when he saw them.

He didn't stop for long though and hooked his hands on either side of her underwear and then dragged them down her body, his fingers brushing her smooth legs.

When she was naked, Luke took a dainty ankle into his hand and raised her leg up to his mouth, forcing her to lie down on the couch as he sunk to his knees before her.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her foot and then started a sensuous dance up her leg, his tongue licking a trail up to the apex of her thighs.

When he got to her pussy, he breathed over it, grinned and released her leg. Very quickly he grabbed the other ankle and kissed the skin on the inside of her foot, smiling with pleasure as Penelope groaned beneath him and her hips gyrated, desperate for some friction.

He worked his way up her leg, repeating the same ministrations as he had before, using just the tip of his tongue to stimulate her.

But this time, when he got to the apex of her thighs, he didn't stop. He carried on, immersing himself in her pussy.

He pressed his mouth against her clit and she reared off the couch, pleasure running through her veins like liquid gold.

"Oh!" It hit her like a freight train and she closed her eyes against the onslaught.

Luke was ruthless; his tongue was relentless and his hands grasped at her thighs to keep them open, to keep her pussy exposed to him.

Her body arched and she grasped the cushions on the sofa, biting her lip as Luke's tongue worked her over.

As her orgasm began to build, she opened her eyes and looked at the erotic scene in front of her.

She could see the top of Luke's head, his dark hair a contrast to the golden curls that he was currently buried in; her legs shaking on either side of his head as his large hands held her open to him.

She released one cushion from her grip and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling lightly.

When he didn't stop, she used her other hand to grasp his hair and pull him away from her.

His eyes searched hers and she could see the worry in them that he had done something wrong.

"I want you," she told him boldly. "Inside me - now."

The worry was replaced by lust and he shot to his feet, roughly shoving his jeans and boxers down his legs in one swoop.

His erection was large, hard and thick - in other words, the perfect erection.

Her mouth went dry and her pussy flooded with moisture.

He kicked his shoes off and pulled his socks off.

"Condom?" she breathed, praying that he had one. She didn't want to stop now. Not that she was so close to getting what she wanted.

Luke nodded and walked to the side of the couch, he opened the drawer in the sideboard and pulled out a little foil packet.

Penelope pushed herself back on the sofa and laid down, bending her leg at the knee and biting her lip as he walked over to her.

He knelt above her and then lowered his body on top of hers, letting her feel everything.

They both moaned.

As Luke opened the wrapper, Penelope took the condom from him.

He watched with rapt attention as she took the rubber between her hands and slowly slid it onto his large cock, her hands passing over him a few extra times.

"Christ," he breathed, his chest puffing out and his eyes closing.

"He's not here," Penelope whispered, placing on hand on the back of his neck as her other grasped his large cock and guided him into her. "It's just us."

When he was fully sheathed inside her, they both let out a collective breath.

Luke smiled at her from above and leaned down to press a tender kiss to her lips.

"You can move," she told him, both of her hands going to his firm ass, encouraging him.

"I plan to," he responded, pressing his face into her neck as his hips started a slow rhythm.

Penelope let out a moan and squeezed her eyes closed tight.

"You feel so good," he groaned into her neck. "So good!"

She wanted to comment. To say that he felt pretty good too. But the words left her mouth when he hitched his leg up higher and thrust harder into her, hitting that spot.

"Oh!" Her hands desperately grasped at his backside and her fingernails dug into his tan skin.

"There?" he asked.

"There!" she gasped. "Right there!"

Luke's mouth sucked harder on her neck and one hand came up to her head and used it to push harder into her. His other slipped between them, finding that little bundle of nerves that was tingling, and pressed down.

Penelope's back arched high in the air and her hips bucked into his. 

Moans, groans and whimpers fell out of her mouth and she clutched him.

Her eyes were closed so tightly that she began to see stars and she found it hard to breathe. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and pleasure was surging through her veins.

"That's it," Luke encouraged. "Let go."

He lowered his head and sucked a sensitive nipple into his mouth, his tongue swirling around the peak and she flew off the edge.

Her whole body went rigid and her mind went black, nothing but pleasure radiating from her body.

Above her, Luke groaned when he felt the wet heat flood around his cock and two more thrusts and he was done for.

He released her nipple and shoved his face in between her breasts, moaning into her skin as his thrusts turned shaky and uneven.

He lay on top of her for a few seconds before he pulled out and kissed her on the lips.

She smoothed his hair away from his face and gave him a smile, tiredness seeping into her body.

When he rested his forehead against hers, all she could do was smile.

The next morning when she woke, she was in his bed. They'd finally made their way upstairs and fallen asleep together.

It had been a wonderful night… but now Penelope felt strange. She liked Luke. There was no denying that. But she wasn't sure if she wanted a relationship with him.

So she did what they do in all great movies. She left a note on the bedside table that said 'Thanks' and crept out before he woke up.

She rang Mickey and changed the days she volunteered, not wanting to run into him again. It had been a fantastic night and one she would certainly remember.

* * *

**3 Years Later**

Penelope watched in fascination as Reid continued to explain to Rossi how asking certain questions when you met someone could make them fall in love with you in twenty minutes. Matt was sat off to the side, not really listening as he sat on his phone, probably texting his wife and Tara looked on with fascination.

She loved these people so much.

"Good morning," JJ greeted as she walked into the meeting room with a coffee in hand. "Emily and I would like to introduce you all to someone."

Penelope peered behind JJ and then felt her jaw drop.

"This is Luke Alvez and he'll be joining us at the BAU."

Luke's eyes scanned the room and when he saw her, he got a look of recognition on his face, a grin spreading across his features as embarrassment consumed her.

"Luke, this is David Rossi, Spencer Reid, Matt Simmons, Tara Lewis and-"

"Penelope Garcia." Luke finished for her.

"We meet again," he said, talking directly to her.

Penelope could feel the team's eyes on her and whilst she could feel her face flaming, there was another thought present.

_Damn, those dimples look just as good on him as they did three years ago_.

* * *

**Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

Starting Work

Luke awoke, not to his alarm like he usually did, but to the sun shining in his face through a crack in the curtains.

He let out a groan and rolled over, fulling expected to find a creamy breast under his hand.

When his hand fell against the rapidly cooling, rumpled sheet his eyes shot open and he looked around his bedroom.

Then, on the bedside table, he saw a note. _Thanks_ was the only thing it read. He blew out a breath.

So much for that morning quickie, he was hoping for.

With a sigh he sat up and got out of bed, not seeing any reason to stay in it. It was just a reminder.

The weeks that followed sucked. Penelope had changed her days at the rescue so he didn't see her anymore and he wasn't going to try and get Mickey to contact her or give him her number - that was just stalker-ish.

So instead, he focused on what mattered. He got his place ready for Roxy. He built a brand new fence in his backyard and made sure none of the trees were poisonous. He researched the best dog diets and decided to feed her raw. He got her name listed for several classes - obedience and agility (since she was so active) and he brought too many toys.

The day she came home and was officially one of the best days of his life. She walked in the house and he could tell that she immediately knew this was where she belonged. Within half an hour of coming home, she had fallen asleep on his chest.

Whilst she brought him so much joy, she was also a reminder of Penelope.

Why she left without saying anything, Luke didn't know. He was slightly hurt by it but chose to brush it off. He still had the memories of that amazing night and that would have to do.

* * *

Luke smiled as Emily looked through his CV, a smile on her face.

"This looks really good, Luke."

"Thanks."

"You come highly recommended - I'm surprised they're letting you go."

Luke chuckled. "I liked my time on the fugitive task force but I need something different."

Emily nodded in understand. "I get that."

She shuffled his papers and then handed them back to him.

"Well, if you want to accept the job, I would be very happy to offer it to you."

"Yeah!" Luke said enthusiastically. He reached across the table to shake Emily's hand.

"There are a few things we need to go through before you officially become an SSA but why don't we go and meet the team?"

Luke nodded and began to stand.

Before he had time to fully stand, there was a knock at the door and a petite blonde woman entered.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"No, we had just finished." Emily gestured towards the woman. "Jennifer Jareau this is Luke Alvez."

"Nice to meet you," he told her as he shook her hand.

"You too - but please, call me JJ."

"Got it."

"Luke is going to be taking over from Morgan."

"Oh!" JJ said with delight. "Well, it's nice to have you on the team, Luke."

"I was just about to take him to meet the team, where are they?"

"That's why I came to you - we're just about to start a briefing."

"Perfect timing." Emily turned to Luke. "If you'd like to follow me, I can introduce you to everyone."

Luke nodded and followed Emily and JJ out of the office and down the hall.

They entered a large meeting room and Luke glanced around.

"Good morning," JJ greeted, a few steps in front of him. "Emily and I would like to introduce you all to someone. This is Luke Alvez and he'll be joining us at the BAU."

Luke's eyes scanned the room and when he saw her, he got a look of recognition on his face, a grin spreading across his features as her face turned redder and redder.

Who would have thought that Penelope Garcia worked for the FBI? Certainly not him.

"Luke, this is David Rossi, Spencer Reid, Matt Simmons, Tara Lewis and-"

Luke cut her off. "Penelope Garcia." She looked just as beautiful as he remembered, if not more so. The longer he looked at her, the more his memory didn't seem to do her justice. Her eyes were even greener and her skin even smoother. Her hair brighter and her figure even more alluring. He couldn't help it. He had to say something. "We meet again," he said, talking directly to her.

Everyone in the room turned to look at her as she turned a bright shade of pink.

Suddenly, Luke couldn't wait to start work.

* * *

**You asked and I delivered. I'm now writing several chapters for this following their relationship after Luke joins the BAU. I'm hoping to update it at least once a week, maybe more so I hope I'll see you then!**

**Thanks for reading.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

I Made Lasagne

Penelope could feel everyone's eyes on her but it was as if she were a rabbit in the headlights; frozen.

"Do you two know each other?" Tara asked as she looked between them.

Luke opened his mouth and Penelope dreaded what was going to come out, so she cut him off.

"We volunteered for a while at the same rescue." It wasn't a lie, per se.

"That's cool," Reid mused.

"Yeah…" she trailed off. Luke was looking so smug and those damn dimples were still present on his face!

Penelope could feel everyone looking at her and she didn't have anything to tell them - or anything she wanted them to know, so she stood up and smoothed her dress down. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom."

With as much dignity as she could muster, Penelope walked past her team and Luke and headed to the restrooms.

She stayed there for about five minutes before she felt calm enough to come out. When she did, Luke was gone.

The team looked at her and she could hear the questions on their tongues.

Nonetheless, she chose to ignore them. "Shall we get started?" she asked, picking up the remote to show the team the gory pictures that had come in earlier that morning.

* * *

One week later, Penelope was in the lift when the doors opened and revealed none other than Luke Alvez.

"Hey," he greeted, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Reluctantly, she greeted him; they would have to work together after all. "Good morning."

"How was your weekend?" he asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"I don't really discuss my personal life with my co-workers."

Luke scoffed. "I think we're a little more than co-workers."

She saw red. "Listen here Newbie McNewberson, what happened three years ago was nice and fun and great," her face began to heat, "but it was three years ago. Things have changed since then and for some reason, we're now working together. Can we please keep it professional?"

"I am keeping it professional…" It was her turn to scoff. "I'm just worried you might run out of a meeting and only leave a note."

Penelope gritted her teeth and stared at the metal wall of the elevator in front of her.

"Okay - I'm sorry. That was a low blow. I'll keep it professional. Did you have a nice weekend?"

He was offering her an olive branch and Penelope Garcia was nothing if not nice so she took it. "I did. I practised some fingering techniques-" His eyes shot to hers and then dropped down her body before returning to her face. "-on my clarinet!" She rushed to clarify. "This conversation is making me uncomfortable so I need to go." No sooner had the elevator doors opened and she was practically sprinting into the lobby of the BAU.

If she'd have looked behind her she would have seen the grin on Luke's face that he'd managed to rattle Penelope Garcia.

"I made lasagne!" he called after her.

"I do not care!" she shouted back, even though in the back of her mind she was reliving the day he made her vegetarian chilli… and the night he gave her some of the greatest pleasure she had ever experienced.

**Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

You Suck

Penelope watched as Emily's face just stared blankly at hers. She was aware she was being irrational (maybe the three cups of coffee she'd already had had something to do with it) but she just couldn't help but worry about the people she loved.

She told Emily just that.

Then Reid and JJ and walked in.

"Hey, it's Gabriel," Reid remarked.

Penelope turned to him, shocked that he knew.

"Ah." JJ nodded in understanding.

"How come you guys know about-" Tara had only told her last night that she was meeting with her brother for coffee and about their past. She was worried about her friend. She didn't want her getting sucked into the darkness.

"She told us about him when she first joined." First joined? They've known about him all this time?

"Flew in this morning. Probably looking for money," Reid said in a disapproving tone?

Did everyone know but her?

Luke and Rossi chose that moment to enter. Great. _Newbie._ That was his nickname and that's how it would stay.

"Hey, is there a case?" Luke asked and Penelope tried to ignore the sinful things his voice was doing to her body.

_Control yourself_ , she thought.

"What's Tara's brother's picture doing up?"

Well, all that arousal had gone and was replaced with anger.

Rossi and Emily filled him in and Penelope slammed her remote (yes, it was hers) down on the table.

"Come on! The new guy?" He looked amused. "How come he knows? Why was I the last one to know?" Her voice got quiet at the end. She didn't like the thought of people not telling her things - she understood everyone was entitled to their privacy and she wasn't the best at keeping secrets, but the thought that her friends didn't want to tell her things upset her.

Reid explained it was an experiment and Penelope felt slightly better.

Until Luke said, "Damn, I had you down for six." The smug look on his face further served to irritate her.

She told them that they sucked and then she levelled Luke with a glare. "Especially you… _Newbie._ " She stormed out of the room.

* * *

Hours later when they were all at their local bar (except for Tara who had opted to spend the evening with her father and brother - understandable given the day they'd had), Penelope couldn't help but feel relieved that everyone was alright, including Luke.

As she glanced at him from across the table, she tried not to notice how sexy his adam's apple looked in the light; she tried not to notice the way his lips wrapped around the beer bottle, and she tried not to notice his large hand on the table.

Unfortunately, she didn't try hard enough as Luke saw her looking and gave her a smirk as he took a sip of beer. She felt her entire body flush and she looked away, sipping at her cocktail.

For the next ten minutes, he kept looking at her and she hated that he knew she had been looking. It made her feel… wobbly.

"I have to get back," she told the group, standing abruptly from the table. "We've got to be up early tomorrow…" she trailed off, not really having an excuse.

"PG's right," Emily said. "We've got more cases to deal with so we should all get an early night - and it's been a long day." JJ nodded in agreement as the rest of the group started to gather their stuff and head out the door.

When Penelope didn't go in the direction of the headquarters where they had left their cars, Rossi asked her what she was doing.

"I got the bus this morning."

"It's dark - we can't let you wait in the dark for the bus."

"It's fine." She waved them off.

"Let me give you a lift," Rossi said.

"No - I live in the opposite direction."

"Where do you live?" Luke asked and Penelope realised it had never come up in conversation before.

"Belleau Wood Drive." There was a reason it hadn't come up in conversation before. She lived near him and didn't want him to know.

"I live around the corner." His eyes glowed when he said that. He was now realising just how close she had been for the last few years. "I'll drive you."

"No-" she began to protest but she was cut off by JJ.

"That'd be great, Luke. Then we wouldn't worry about her." She gave Penelope a pointed look.

Realising it was her against the entire team she reluctantly nodded. "Alright."

"This way, chica," Luke told her, leading her to his SUV.

Reluctantly she got in and gave him directions to where she lived.

"I know where it is," he said curtly.

"What's your problem?"

"My problem?" Luke turned to look at her before focusing his attention back on the road. "You left without saying anything - not even a goodbye! And now you're acting like I'm the bad guy!"

"I do not act like that!" Like a petulant child, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes, you do. You don't want me here but I am here so you're going to have to get used to me."

The rest of the drive was quiet and when they got to her apartment complex, Penelope was pissed.

It was probably a combination of a stressful day, the alcohol and having Luke so close but she felt ready to blow.

"You know what Luke Alvez-" she turned to him. "Maybe I am acting crappily but my best friend has just left and I'm struggling to cope. I don't need you swanning in here…" she stopped when she saw the Luke on his face. "What?"

"You're sexy when you're mad."

His words disarmed her. Well, what did you say to that?

"Thank you?"

He grinned and Penelope lost it. She launched herself across the middle console and crashed her lips against Luke's. He moaned in surprise and then pressed a large hand to the back of her head to keep her lips on his.

She furiously grasped at his shirt and pulled his closer. She wanted more.

Breathless she pulled away and stared into his face.

"Come inside," she demanded, quickly getting out the car.

They met in front of the bonnet and she grasped his hand in hers and dragged him up the stairs and to her apartment door. The second she had unlocked it, she turned to him and pulled him hard into her body, kissing him like it was the last thing she would ever do.

They stumbled back to the couch until she was sat on it and Luke was knelt in between her legs.

"I want a taste," he told her against her lips. "See if three years have changed anything."

At first, his words didn't register in her lust-filled brain and then when he sat back on his haunches and pulled her shoes off she got his meaning.

He kissed up her legs, much like he did the first time. But he was faster this time, his tongue licking the skin as she laid back against the sofa and closed her eyes.

Luke's hands slid up her legs and found the blue cotton underwear she was wearing. He slid them down with ease and then tossed them over his shoulder. He pushed her colourful dress up her body until she was bared to him.

He took a moment to take in the sight in front of him and grinned. Exactly the same as three years ago - perfect.

He placed his fingers on her lips and spread them apart, exposing her bundle of nerves to him.

"Shall we test your theory?" he asked.

"Hm?" Penelope was waiting. Waiting for his touch.

"The theory that I suck?" Luke had an idea.

"What?" Penelope used her elbows to push herself up at more until she was looking at Luke.

"You said this morning I suck - shall we see how accurate that theory is?"

When a look of confusion and almost annoyance crossed her face, he smirked and placed his lips against her clit, sucking the precious bud into his mouth.

Penelope's back arched and she cried out.

"Luke!" She hadn't been prepared for that onslaught of pleasure and it shook her to her core. Inside her bra, her nipples pebbled and she felt the hairs on her arms stand up.

She placed one hand over her mouth to try and control the moans that fell from her pink lips as the other grasped as Luke's hair and pulled him closer.

She could feel his grin against her skin and when he quickly moved his tongue from side to side her eyes fell closed and the world drifted away.

A ball of pleasure started in her stomach and raced through her veins like a drug. It left her breathless and shaking and wanting more, so much more.

She keened and cried as Luke brought her closer and closer to orgasm, his tongue working her clit overtime as she writhed and begged.

"Oh God!" Her hips thrust against his mouth for a final time as her essence flew from her and onto his chin. He greedily lapped at it, not wanting to waste a drop.

He let her legs go and she opened her eyes to see him grinning at her on the floor, her cum on his chin.

He reached onto the side table and used a tissue to clean himself up.

And then in a surprising turn of events, he got to his feet, erection straining against the rough fabric of his jeans and ran his hands through his hair, smoothing it down. He gave her a friendly smile.

"I'll see you in the morning, chica."

In pure and utter shock, Penelope watched as he turned on his heel and left, softly closing the door behind him. A few moments later she heard his car start up as she laid there, completely boneless and trying to work out what had just happened.

She cursed. "Newbie _._ "


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Creature of Habit

They didn't talk about what happened. That was the unspoken rule. The team didn't need to know that they had seen each other naked more times than normal co-workers should. She hated on him and he took it all in his stride.

Since he had left her, satisfied and shaky on her own couch, her dislike of him seemed to multiply. Part of the reason he did it was for her to see how it felt; to have experienced an overwhelming pleasure and then be left alone. Another part of him did it because he could. He wanted her but didn't want to give her the satisfaction of kicking him out.

Either way, he had a good night. If he thought about it too hard his tongue would tingle with the taste of her. His cock would grow and he would have to think of his grandmother in a bikini to just get it to deflate.

They were in the BAU offices and Penelope was getting all excited that they were getting another team member. If it meant she would stop calling him _Newbie_ he was all for it.

"I say we change our name… from the magnificent seven to the awesome eight," Penelope said.

Everyone was dubious, they didn't outright say it was a bad idea but they didn't agree with it either. Did they need a nickname? Even if Luke did find her enthusiasm cute.

She declared a dictatorship. "You guys don't get a vote." She turned to him and when she looked at him he felt the corners of his mouth begin to quirk up. "Especially you, Newbie." A laugh bubbled up in his throat.

Prentiss came down and told them they had a case before Penelope's face changed and she looked at her phone.

In the meeting room, as Penelope gave out the case files, Luke took the remote. He held it close, wanting to tease her. She looked around for it for a second and then turned to Luke, holding her hand out as a parent would to a child.

He held the remote still and watched as realisation crossed her face that he wasn't going to give it over. Eventually, she reached over and took it.

Their hands touched and her eyes flew to his. She felt it too. Whatever 'it' was she felt it. He couldn't say he felt sparks but he did feel tingles and his heart did begin to race. _What had she done to him_?

* * *

Luke and JJ walked through the marsh. He was hoping they wouldn't find anything but the profiler in him suspected otherwise.

He tried to lighten the mood. "Well, it's a good thing we're getting a new member of the team." He told JJ. "Personally, I'll be happy not to be the guy new anymore. Whoever comes in will get that title and Garcia can stop calling me _Newbie_." He pointed to himself, even though he was the only one Penelope had given that name to. It still felt slightly odd to call her Garcia. He'd known her as Penelope. It was odd because in his mind Penelope and Garcia were two different people; Penelope was the sweet women ho had writhed with pleasure underneath him whilst Garcia was a fantastic hacker who worked for the FBI. He knew they were the same person but it still felt strange.

JJ gave him a dubious look and Luke realised that this thinking might be flawed. "She's a creature of habit - I think you're stuck with that one, _Newbie_." He chuckled at her words. Hearing her call him that though didn't seem right. Maybe he was more attached to the nickname than he thought.

His mood changed quickly when he saw some fingers sticking up out of the ground. The profiler in him had been right.

* * *

Luke took Stephen Walker in. He seemed like a decent enough bloke. If Prentiss and Rossi approved then so did he.

"Let me be the first to welcome you," Penelope said as she leaned across and shook hands with him, a large smile on her face.

"I think you're forgetting something," Luke reminded her.

"I'm forgetting nothing, _Newbie_." Her wicked smile told him everything. She expected him to think she would stop using that nickname. She wanted him to point it out. She wanted a chance to call him it in front of everyone - especially in front of the newest team member.

"Told you," JJ muttered as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

As Stephen got acquainted with the team, Luke was vaguely aware of what they were saying. But his attention was on Penelope as they argued over why he should no longer be called Newbie. But as they argued and bickered, Luke was kind of glad he still had that nickname.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Splash of Colour

Luke watched as Penelope looked around the plane. He could see she wasn't a fan of the neutral colours. She expressed this and JJ got straight in her good books.

"What, you mean I'm the splash of colour… stop it." She made hand motions for JJ to continue. Luke smiled and chuckled. It was a good metaphor for his life with her in it. Before she came along, his life was boring and neutral and plain. And then she came in with her bright clothes and bold jewellery and amazing personality and he was swept away. She added colour to his otherwise quiet life. And he couldn't complain about that.

* * *

Penelope stood on the side of the road and watched as JJ spoke with the police officers at the scene. She couldn't understand why someone would do this, purposefully injure innocents? And in such a volatile way. Penelope was only too familiar with the damage that a car could do to a person's body and she hated the thought that these people were suffering.

Seeing her standing there, Luke wandered over and offered his hand to her.

She wasn't going to take it, honestly. Then the corners of her mouth quirked up and those dimples got her again.

She placed her smaller hand in his and tried to ignore the heat coming from his body.

Delicately, she stepped onto the road, aware that she probably should have worn heels that weren't as high. She didn't want to give him the wrong impression so once she was stable she shook his hand off, grimacing at him. Luke took it all in good humour though. He jokingly wiped his hands on his jeans as if he had touched something on her that he didn't want to. It was kind of funny seeing as only a few weeks ago he'd had his mouth on her pussy.

She kept her grimace on her face until she turned away but she couldn't hide the smile that spread across it when he wasn't looking.

* * *

Luke and Penelope were in the precinct, trying to work out what the unsub's next step was.

"There has to be some kind of connection between the unsub and Veronica Perotta. I mean, he targeted her outside her own home." Luke stepped closed to Penelope. "He had to have some knowledge of her daily routines. This-this was personal." This was the worst attack he had perpetrated. To have a woman run over in front of her own home whilst she unloaded her grocery shopping - it was diabolical. They needed to catch this guy before he hurt anyone else.

"I'm looking through Veronica's social media now," Penelope told him. Her fingers whizzed over the keys. "She was single, she had recently joined something called Amorous Intrigue."

"The dating website." The only reason Luke knew about it was because his friend had tried to set him a profile up. He wasn't interested though. He hadn't been interested in dating since he had spent the night with Penelope.

"Oh, is that what is it? Maybe I should join it, not that I'd want to join anything you know about… or I need a dating website… cause I don't." He was positive she didn't need a dating website.

As they delved into the website they learnt that Veronica had been pinged several times by a man called Jonathan Rhodes. He had contacted quite a few women and all of them had rejected him. That would have made things much worse.

"Here's somebody - Alyssa Miles." Penelope pulled up a picture. "Totally his type." Brown hair, brown eyes and slim build. She fit the victim profile. He could hear Penelope's breath speed up and she began to talk faster.

Luke knew. He just knew in his gut. "That's his next target. Can you pull up an address?" Silly question, he knew she could.

"Yep. Just sent it to your phone."

"Alright, grab your laptop hotshot, let's go." He turned away from her and headed out of the room. He needed to get his bulletproof vest and find Penelope one too.

"I don't go with… I do go with!" she shouted. "I'm precious cargo!" Even though he could hear the fear and hesitation in her voice, she still did as he asked.

Her words echoed through his head - she was definitely precious cargo to him.

* * *

Outside Alyssa Miles house, Penelope had to swallow her fear as she set her laptop up on the white car and began to furiously type.

Luke wasn't helping matters. "Stop staring at me when I'm searching engining, it's weird." The truth was his stare made her nervous and she needed all her nerves intact if she were to stop this maniac. Feeling his eyes on her made her heart beat faster and her palms sweat.

"Sorry," he apologised as she typed faster and faster.

"She managed to keep ahold of her phone - can you do something with that?"

Penelope turned to him and felt a sliver of relief and hope. Yes, she most certainly could.

"That's helpful, you're helpful sometimes." Luke might have just saved Alyssa Miles' life.

* * *

Luke was driving not as if his life depended on it but life someone else's life did - because it was true. He had to get to Alyssa Miles and he had to get to her now.

"I've got eyes on him up there, you see?" Luke told her, watching as the car swerved in and out of traffic. Damn those driving games - that is where he got his skills from. He was fearless and that was a terrifying thought.

"Do you have to be so lurchy? I get carsick," she told him. Once again, there was fear in her voice.

Luke reached across the small space and gently placed his hand on her arm.

As they followed the car, Penelope began to panic.

"He's just very good."

"He's not as good as you, okay?" For some reason, she couldn't see it, she couldn't see how amazing she was. Luke watched her day in and day out, the things she had to face and the places she had to go on the internet to find what they needed. As far as he was concerned (and yes, he may be slightly biased), she was the best of the best.

She shrieked about dying and Luke had to roll his eyes at her dramatics. He could handle a car.

"Nobody is going to die today!"

Penelope continued to type and he could feel the movement of her arm under his hand. Then she stopped.

"I'm in!" she shouted. Luke felt a small portion of relief flow through his body. This was half the battle won.

He watched as the car rolled to a stop in front of them, about two feet away from the wall. He jumped out of the SUV immediately, drew his gun and stalked towards the car.

"FBI! Show me your hands!" The guy didn't know what to do. He hauled him out of the car.

As he patted him down and cuffed him, he saw that Penelope had gotten out too. She had gone around to the driver's side and pulled the tape from her hands that the unsub had used to keep her at the wheel. Penelope wrapped her arms around the traumatised girl and comforted her.

Over her head, they shared a look. The case was done. It was solved.

* * *

Penelope's heart dropped out of her stomach as she and Luke shared a look before she rose to her feet immediately. As Reid was led from the courtroom she placed her hands on the partition separating them, trying to get as close as she could to him. She wanted to shout that it would all be alright, that'd they fix this mess, that'd the judge had got it wrong. But there were no words. None of them seemed strong enough or good enough.

Her heart broke as he disappeared through a door. A tear fell down her face and behind her, she heard Luke stand and then felt him place a hand on her shoulder.

Her breathing was ragged; this could not be happening.

As she felt herself falling apart, Luke's other hand came up and squeezed her arm. He was strong and brave and right now, his hands on her were quite literally keeping her together. If he took his hands from her she was sure she would fall apart.

Penelope didn't remember much after that but as she sat in the offices at the FBI as everyone went home, she couldn't move.

"Penelope?" Luke called, coming to stand in front of her. "Are you alright?"

She could lie and say yes but she wore her heart on her sleeve. "No." She shook her head.

Luke knelt at her feet and took her hands in his. "Listen to me. We are going to catch Scratch and this is all going to disappear. Reid is innocent - we all know that."

Tears formed in her eyes and her throat got tight.

"I can't promise that it's going to be easy because it's not but we are going to do everything in our power to help Reid."

She nodded because she knew that but right now it didn't feel like enough.

"Shall I walk you to your car?"

She shook her head again. "No. I don't want to go home. I don't want to be alone."

"You don't have to be alone, chica." Luke stood and brought her with him. "You drive to your apartment and I'll follow. We can have some tea and talk."

Penelope took her hands from his and swiped at her eyes. "What about Roxy?"

"She'll be fine for a few hours." She had food, water, plenty of toys and a doggy door so she could come and go as she pleased.

"Okay."

Together, they left the offices and went to the respective cars in the parking lot. Luke followed Penelope back to her apartment and when they got inside she made them some herbal tea.

They sat on the couch together, Simon rubbing himself all over Penelope before going to Luke and investigating his trousers.

"I've known Reid for years… he'd never do something like this." Luke listened because that's all he could do. "He loves his mom and that's the only thing he's guilty of. How could anyone think he'd murder someone?" She held back tears of frustration. "He works for the FBI, he'd know how to cover his tracks if he wanted." She sighed. "He is one of the sweetest men I have ever met and he's being treated like some kind of criminal."

"It's a process - they have to treat him like any other suspect."

"But this is Reid - he isn't just anybody! He's boy genius, he's the man who had looked after his mother from a young age, he's the man who can tell you the most boring facts about shrimp, he's the man who has such a big brain inside his head but also a big heart to match!"

"Penelope - I know." Those words. Luke said them so softly and he was right. He did know. He'd only know Reid for a short time but he knew all these things were true. There wasn't anybody else like Spencer Reid on the planet.

Her eyes felt gritty and tired so she took her glasses off and rubbed them roughly before putting them back on. She let her head rest against the back of the sofa she was facing Luke and he did the same.

Her eyes traced over his face and with a slight amount of hesitation, Penelope leaned forward and placed her lips on his.

When she pulled away, Luke was looking at her. He brought one hand up to her face and stroked her cheek. Then, he leaned in and kissed her again.

The passion that overcame Penelope at that moment was instant. She pushed Luke back against the couch quite aggressively and kissed his neck, sucking on the tan skin.

"Penelope… stop." Luke's voice shocked her and she sat back.

"You don't want me," her words were quiet and there was hurt in her voice.

Luke gave a humourless chuckle. "I want you all the time, chica." As if to prove his point, Luke brought her palm to his jeans where there was an obvious bulge.

Before she could do anything he pulled her hand away and helped her to stand.

"I want you but not like this - not on the tail end of all this sadness." His hands cradled her face. "So I'm going to put you to bed and then I'm going to go back to my house and I'll see you at work in the morning."

Penelope was silent as Luke took her hand and led her through her small apartment to her bedroom. He stopped her when she stood next to her and slowly turned her around.

With a smile on his face, he began to undress her. It wasn't sensual, it wasn't erotic… it was caring and tender.

He slowly pulled her cardigan from her shoulders, folding it neatly and laying it on the chair in the corner of the room. Then he was back at her side, spinning her gently around to access the zipper at the back of her dress. He pulled it down until the dress fell from her body. He helped her step out of it and then brought his hands to her shoulders. He slid the straps of her bra down her arms and moved his hands around her back to unclasp the bra. Luke did it with such ease but he never took his eyes from hers.

Penelope pulled the bra away from her chest and let it fall to the floor.

"Pyjamas?" Luke asked quietly.

"Behind you, top left-hand drawer." Her voice was just as quiet.

Luke gave her a small smile and turned. He opened the drawer and pulled out the first nightie he found. It was purple with cats dotted all over it. It was so her.

He returned to her and slipped the soft cotton material over her head, brushing her hair out from the neckline when it fell down her body.

"Turn," he requested quietly.

Penelope did and Luke unclasped the black necklace from around her neck, gently laying it on the vanity next to them. Then he began to take the pins out of her hair. He did it slowly, combing his fingers through her golden tresses as he went, making sure that it didn't tangle.

When he was done with that he placed a hand on her shoulder and spun her once more. Gently, he placed his hands on her shoulder and pushed her towards the bed. When she sat down on it, he crouched down and took her heels from her feet.

Taking a minute, he rubbed the soft skin of her feet, pressing his thumbs into her arches until she gave a small groan of satisfaction.

He stood up and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead.

She slid back on the bed and tucked herself under the covers.

Luke pulled them up to her chin and stroked her cheek.

"Sweet dreams, chica."

Penelope watched as he turned his back and left, shutting the lights off as he went. She heard him whisper goodnight to Simon and then leave. She strained her eyes to hear his footsteps on the stairs and then his car engine start up.

By the time he pulled out of the parking lot, she was fast asleep. Her mind free from the sadness of the day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

The Best

"You truly are the best…" Luke told her down the phone.

"Really?" He could imagine her face lighting up, glee spread across her features at the compliment.

"Available!" he finished, laughing as he hung up the phone. He just wished he could be there to see her face.

* * *

Penelope stared at the phone after Luke had hung up.

"Newbie." She uttered it like a curse word. How dare he? She was the best - she knew that. He was the new guy!

Anger brimmed under the surface but then Penelope got an idea. A grin spread across her face. This was going to be good.

* * *

Luke flicked through the channels on the television utterly bored with everything that as appearing. How did he have all these channels and nothing to watch? He debated playing on one of his flight simulators but he didn't fancy it. The dog walker had taken Roxy out earlier and she was fast asleep on his bed upstairs so he didn't want to wake her.

He sighed and let his head flop back against the couch, boredom seeping in.

He had just closed his eyes when the doorbell sounded.

Luke's brow furrowed and he stood, going to see who would be calling around this time of night.

When he opened the door he was pleasantly surprised to see Penelope Garcia stood on the other side.

"Hey…" his voice trailed off. "What are you doing here?"

"How pleasant of you," she remarked. "Are you going to invite me in?"

"Sure," Luke opened the door wider and she entered, stepping inside and going straight for the living room.

Roxy came trotting down the stairs and when she saw Penelope, she went over to her immediately.

Luke watched as Penelope knelt down and gave her a fuss, tickling her behind the ears and then her belly when Roxy rolled over.

He waited for her to explain or say something about the reason she was here… but she said nothing. She was tickling his dog like it completely normal for her to come over at nine at night.

"Why are you here?" Luke was aware that his question could be construed as rude and if his mom could her him she'd give him an earful.

Penelope stood and straightened out her colourful dress. There was a glint of something in her eye.

Roxy got back to her feet and padded upstairs, no doubt to get some more sleep.

"I wanted to come over."

Luke snorted.

"I did."

"Why?"

"I wanted to see you." Penelope chose that moment to step closer to him. He could have sworn that her hips popped a little more and he did his best to not stare at the generous amount of cleavage she was showing.

"Again, why?"

She was now standing barely two feet away from him and Luke swallowed hard. Her presence was affecting him in more ways than one. When she didn't answer him, he asked her outright.

"Penelope, why are you here?"

She gave him a sly smile. "For this." Her hands grasped his and pulled him towards her. Her lips landed on his and within seconds they were kissing heavily. Luke's hands wrapped around her plentiful waist and moved further down to grasp at her luscious backside.

He could think of several reasons why they should stop and not do this but none of them seemed to matter.

Penelope's hands trailed down his chest, her fingers feeling the muscles that moved and rippled under her touch.

When she got to the bottom of the t-shirt he was wearing, her fingers slipped under the flimsy material and stroked sensually down his tanned skin. The muscles in Luke's stomach tightened and he bit back the moan that bubbled in the back of his throat.

She pushed the t-shirt over his head and Luke had to reluctantly pull his lips away from her for her to completely remove the material from his body. Luke didn't see where she put it because he attached his lips right back onto hers and wove his hands in her hair, threading his fingers through her golden locks.

As her fingers toyed with the edge of the sweatpants he was wearing, she whispered against his lips. "I wonder what's under here."

He was going to say something witty; tell her it was a present for her or something. However, when her hand grasped his hardening cock in her hands Luke lost the ability to think clearly.

He moaned loudly against her mouth and Penelope pulled back and kissed his neck. Her kisses were featherlight and warm against his skin, such a contrast to the way she was firmly gripping his cock and moving her hand up and down.

She placed her spare hand on his abdominal muscles and pushed him backwards. Without thinking about what she was doing or where he was going, Luke willingly let himself be guided.

Penelope pushed him into the recliner behind him and stood over him, her hand still pumping at his impressive erection.

Luke opened his eyes and watched the scene for a moment before it got too much and he had to close them. He felt her hand pull the waistband of his sweatpants down and then her lips at his ear.

"Lift your ass." He did as she asked and soon his sweatpants and boxers were on the floor, leaving him completely naked.

The leather of the chair was cold and it made him arch his hips into Penelope's warm touch.

Just when he thought it couldn't get any better, she knelt on the floor between his legs and her sweet mouth enveloped him.

Luke flew off the chair and deep into her throat, moaning at the sight before him.

"Chica," he breathed, not quite sure what he was going to say.

Her tongue traced the underside of his appendage, her hand working the base as her other came up and lightly tugged on his balls. God, he had a weakness for that.

His hips shifted with her mouth and his hands grasped at the arms of the chair, desperate for something to hold onto.

When she hummed around him, Luke closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Chica, I can't…" he tried to warn.

Penelope's mouth left his cock and she kissed his abdomen. "It's alright," she whispered. "Come for me."

Well… how could he refuse? Luke opened his eyes to see her blonde hair spread across his tan thighs and he groaned.

His hips shifted in a faster rhythm and just as his balls began tingling, Penelope abruptly pulled back and completely stopped touching him.

His eyes flew open and he saw her looking at him with a grin on her face. She stood from the ground and used his shirt to wipe her hands.

"What are you doing?" he asked in a breathless voice.

"You left me _and_ you said I was the best… available. This is payback, Newbie."

Holding her head high she strutted out the house as if they had just been having a pleasant conversation. Luke watched and then sat, dumbfounded in the chair.

"What the hell?" he shouted, still in shock at what had just happened. He looked down at his still swollen cock, the dark end taunting him at just how close he had been.

He heard paws on the stairs and watched as Roxy came down, probably wondering why he was shouting.

He could see her looking at him and not quite understanding what was going on.

Luke stood and grabbed his sweats, pulling them on.

"Don't look at me like that," he told her.

He grabbed the remote to the television and turned YouTube on. He went to his favourite workout channel and went to the 'Intense' playlist. Rock music rumbled out of the speakers and Luke got to the floor, starting press-ups.

It was going to be a long night and he had to find some way to deflate his cock.

Roxy looked on with mild amusement.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Chink in the Armour

Luke was walking down the hallway when he heard a strange noise coming from Penelope's office. He gently went to the slightly open door and saw her with her back to him, her shoulders lightly shaking as she made a sobbing noise.

"Hey, you okay?"

His presence must have startled her. "Oh my God. Oh my God." She spun around in her chair and stood, dabbing at her eyes. "Yes. I'm fine."

He stepped further into the room. "Well, you don't seem fine."

He didn't move and she stepped towards him. "Look, really, really, really I'm okay. Just go away… please?"

Luke knew she was asking and part of his didn't want to pressure or force her. But the other part that was a gentleman told him it wasn't right to see a woman cry and walk away.

He turned and shut the door behind him. "I know I may not be the someone you want to talk to but I can't walk away with you like this." Not only would his mother kill him but he just couldn't leave her. This was Penelope. The woman who was such an enigma to him and the woman who featured so prominently in his dreams.

Penelope turned away from Luke and walked over to her computers. He was sure it was to put some space between them.

When she didn't answer, he knew she wasn't going to make this easy.

"I know you went to visit Reid, is that what this is about?"

She nodded her head. "He's hurt." It came out quietly and her bottom lip wobbled, tears forming in her green eyes.

"How bad?"

"Like really bad, like he should be in protective custody bad."

Luke's mind began to race as ideas formed and he tried to work out what he could do to help.

"I told him I was going to march into the warden's office and give him a piece of my mind…" Her protective side was emerging but Luke could guess where this was going.

"…and Reid said not to." He got the picture loud and clear.

"He said not to," she confirmed. Her eyes filled with more tears. "He said it would just make things worse."

He knew he had to help, not just Penelope but Reid too. "I'm going to talk to Prentiss now." She nodded but he wasn't convinced that she got just how seriously he was taking this.

"Listen to me," she turned to look at him. "We will get this done. We will get Reid through this."

"That's what I told Reid but the way he looked at me… it was like we both knew it was a lie."

"It won't be," he promised her.

And in her eyes, Luke saw a small glimmer of hope. He was glad to be the one that could do that.

* * *

Luke approached Penelope as she locked up her office for the night. "Hey."

"Hey - oh." The cheery facade that she had was replaced with the Queen of Ice once again. "Hello. It's you."

He half expected her to walk away but she didn't. "How was Vermont?"

"Vermont was-was great." Her question threw him but gave him the perfect opportunity to give her the little present he had found for her whilst they were there. "I found this." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black and white squeaky cat stress toy. It wasn't anything fancy and he hadn't seen one like it on her desk so he brought it. "For your desk. And for those future stressful days." He squeezed the toy several times in front of her face, hoping she appreciated his gift.

She took it from him. "Oh." A glorious smile lit up her entire face as she squeezed it herself. "I don't have this one. Thank you."

"You're welcome." He was so glad that he could make her smile like that when earlier she had been feeling so low.

"How are you doing?" he asked, needing to know that she was better.

"Uh, good." Luke looked into her eyes to make sure she was telling the truth. They weren't glassy and she genuinely looked happy.

"I just want to say, if ever I do become the someone you want to go to when you're crying, I'm here." He wanted her to know that. That he would always be here for her. He wanted to be the someone she went to when she needed comforting.

Penelope's face was unreadable.

"After that time we chased the unsub and you coming to me with your concerns about Reid, I was thinking maybe there was a chink in your fluffy armour." He playfully flicked her clear raincoat.

"That was luck. I cry all the time. I'm a very sensitive person." Damn. Just when he thought he might have broken through. "I am glad you're here - okay." She looked him up and down. "But I am never going to stop giving you crap, Luke."

"Penelope - you know that that's the first time you've called me by my name?" He was going to add more about how the other times she had called out his name he'd been balls deep in her or fucking her with his tongue. But now didn't seem to be the right time.

"Shut it. Be in the moment," she advised with a smile on her face.

As the elevator doors closed, Luke smiled and stared straight ahead. Maybe there was a chink in her armour… and maybe he could just get through.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Moving Forward

"We should start fresh in the morning," Emily told everyone before they left the office for the day.

Luke's eyes went to Penelope and he could see just how distraught she was over Reid. It was killing her that she couldn't do anything and Luke knew that when she went to visit him she was struggling to recognise her friend. He'd studied the effects of prison on inmates so it was no wonder that Reid was acting like he was. But still, it was hard for Penelope.

Everyone went their separate ways and Luke watched as Prentiss and Rossi both disappeared into their respective officers, neither one looking like they were going to come out any time soon.

He gathered his things and made his way down to the parking lot. When he got there, Penelope was leaning against her small blue car looking completely lost.

He placed his bag into his car and watched. She didn't move.

Luke walked over to her.

"Penelope?" Her eyes shot to his and he could see the tears welling up in them.

He didn't give her the chance to say anything, he just wrapped his arms around her and held her. Much to his surprise, Penelope wrapped her arms around his back and held him.

When she finally pulled away, she spoke so quietly that Luke almost didn't hear here. "I don't want to be alone tonight… do you think you could come over… or I could come to you?"

"Yeah, let me just go home and sort Roxy out and then I'll be over."

Penelope nodded. "You could bring Roxy over if you like."

Luke smiled. "She'd love to see you."

They separated and Luke helped her get into her car, shutting the door behind her and watching her drive out of the parking lot.

Luke got into his own truck and made his way home.

He fed Roxy and took her for a quick walk before changing his clothes into something more comfortable.

He grabbed her favourite toy (a pink soft pig) in case she needed something to keep her occupied and loaded Roxy into his car.

The drive to Penelope's passed quickly and soon he found himself at her door, Roxy sat patiently at his side with her pig in her mouth.

Penelope answered the door quickly, dressed in pink polka dot pyjamas.

She greeted them both with a small smile and invited them.

Roxy set about sniffing everything she could. Her nose getting into every nook and cranny.

Simon, who had been napping quite happily on the sofa, was quite affronted when he was rudely awoken by a wet lick across his face by a very excited Roxy.

"Rox!" Luke reprimanded.

"It's alright," Penelope chuckled. "Simon just really likes his sleep."

Luke and Penelope watched as Simon and Roxy took a few minutes to warm up to each other. But once Simon had bopped her on the snout and Roxy had offered up her pig as a peace offering, they both settled down, Roxy lying on the floor next to the couch and Simon rolling onto his back as sleep consumed him once more.

"Do you want a drink?" Penelope asked quietly.

"Yeah."

In no time at all, there was a steaming pot of tea in the middle of the dining room table and Luke was sipping from a blue and white striped mug.

"Do you want to talk?"

"Not about Reid," Penelope said as she shook her head. "It just makes me so sad to think of him… in there…" She shivered. "Tell me a funny story - about anything."

Luke thought for a moment and then the perfect story popped into his head.

He told her about the time his cousin, who is a teacher had a major falling out with her best friend. It was bad, there were names thrown back and forth, screaming and Luke was sure that there was even some food thrown. He never found out what it was about but he did know that the girl had sent his cousin a letter detailing why she had been a bad friend and why she was so glad that their friendship was over.

Penelope interrupted him. "How is this a funny story?"

"Let me get to that part," he chastised.

When his cousin got the letter, she had read it, before getting out a red pen and picking up on all the spelling and grammatical errors that were strewn throughout the letter - did he forget to mention that his cousin was an English teacher? Then she had graded it, folded it up neatly and sent it back to her old friend.

The end of the story had Penelope laughing with tears down her face.

The sight made Luke smile and he was glad that he could do that for her. Make her forget, even for a minute about all the crap they were dealing with.

"What happened after that?" Penelope asked.

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing. Never heard from her friend again. Not that I think that's a bad thing."

"Your cousin sounds amazing!"

"She is - she's a mom the two most fantastic boys I have ever met." Luke was Godfather to both of them and he loved them so much.

"I'm going to have to disagree with you on that," Penelope said as she placed her mug down. "Henry, Michael and Hank are the most fantastic boys I have ever met."

"Well, you've never met my Godsons."

"And you've never met mine," she countered.

"We'll have to change that then." His eyes glittered when he said that and met hers over the table.

Penelope cocked her head to the side and a vulnerable looked drifted over her face.

"Will you kiss me?" Her question surprised him. But the answer was so obvious.

Luke shot off his chair and knelt at her feet. Reverently, he took her face in her hands and gave her a wide smile. Slowly, he leaned in, stroking her cheeks as he did so.

When their lips met it was sweet relief. He sank himself into the kiss, tasting her lips and feeling the soft skin of her cheeks under his thumbs.

Pulling away, he looked into her eyes.

They were closed but then they opened and her green eyes were blazing with heat.

Penelope moved forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close and kissing him.

Their lips moved together, slanting over each other as both Luke and Penelope revelled in the kiss.

She moved closer to him until she was teetering on the edge of the chair, dangerously close to falling onto him (Luke didn't think he would mind if she did).

When her tongue swept over his bottom lip, Luke felt his cock begin to stir in his jeans.

Her hands slipped down his chest, finding the hem of his t-shirt before she began to move it upwards.

Luke pulled his lips away so she could remove it before diving straight back in.

His lips frantically found hers and he found himself devouring her, needing to feel more and more of her.

His large hands cupped her breasts through her pyjamas and she moaned into his mouth, the noise heading straight for his cock.

"Luke," she moaned, leaving his lips as she kissed down his neck. Her lips were soft on his skin and Luke let his head fall back as her tongue and lips explored the expanse of his chest.

Her tongue slipped in between his pecks and Luke grabbed the chair she was sitting on. When he tongue circled around his nipple, his body rocked towards her.

"Do you like that?" she mumbled and Luke wanted to respond but he couldn't. There was no blood left in his brain to make his mouth work, it had all travelled south and was pooling in his cock.

Penelope's lips moved back up to his and she placed a simple kiss to his lips. "Luke.."

"Hm?"

"You're phone is ringing."

Her words didn't register and he moved forward to kiss her again.

"Luke," she giggled against his mouth. "You need to answer your phone."

He pulled away and stared at her for a second as if she were speaking a foreign language.

"Your phone…" she started again before Luke's eyes widened in realisation when his ring tone broke through the 'Penelope fog' and he shoved his hand into his jean pocket, trying to find the offending device.

"Sorry," he mumbled, finally managing to pull his phone out. "It's my mom," he told her, flicking the green call button across the screen.

"Hey mom," he greeted, a soft smile spreading across his face simply because he was talking to his mom.

"Hello darling, how are you?"

"I'm fine thanks, mom." He looked up to see Penelope smiling at him. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh yes. I just wanted to ring you as I've not heard from you for a few days." Luke had been so preoccupied with the cases and Reid that he'd let his daily calls to his mom lapse.

"Sorry - work has been so busy," he explained.

"Don't worry about it; I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Yeah I am, can I call you back later?"

"Of course… why, are you with someone?"

"Yeah…" He felt himself blushing as Penelope bit her lip.

He could feel his mom's narrowed eyes down the phone. "Is it that girl you like?"

His eyes went wide and his blush deepened.

"I'll call you back, mom."

"It is! I want to know everything!" she squealed, hanging up the phone.

Luke took his time looking up at Penelope and when he did he was glad to see an amused look on her face.

"Sorry," he said again. "I can never refuse a phone call from my mom."

"Don't apologise, it's really sweet."

Silence surrounded them and Luke became very aware that he was knelt on the floor, shirtless.

"Do you want your shirt back?" Penelope asked and Luke nodded, trying not to give off an awkward laugh.

Penelope handed it to him and Luke pulled it over his head.

"Thanks for coming over tonight," she said to him in a quiet voice.

"It's alright - I don't mind being the one you come to when you need someone." His words were similar to their earlier conversation when he found her crying in her office.

Roxy chose that moment to come over and nudge her way in between Luke and Penelope.

"Hello beautiful girl," Penelope cooed, rubbing her hands over her coat as she loved on her.

Luke grinned and gently tickled the underside of her belly.

She tucked her face under Luke's arm.

"Do you want to go to the potty?" he asked and her tail wagged hard against the dining room chair leg.

"I think that's a yes," he told Penelope, getting to his feet.

Roxy grabbed her pig from where it was laid on the floor and ran over to the front door.

"I think that's my cue to leave," he said.

Penelope nodded.

They walked to the front door together and Penelope opened it for them both.

As Luke went to leave, her soft hand grabbed onto his.

"I really am grateful for tonight, Luke."

"I know."

"And if you ever need me… just ask."

That made him smile.

"Goodnight, Penelope." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Night, Luke," she whispered.

As difficult as it was, he walked away from Penelope and down the steps to where Roxy was waiting patiently by a tree.

She did her business and then he loaded her up into the car.

When he glanced back at her apartment, Penelope had come out and was stood at the railing. He gave her a wave and she waved back.

Luke smiled and got into his car, driving away from Penelope and back to his house.

He was glad he could be there for her. It felt like they were moving forward.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Chocolate Thunder 

The night was long and arduous. Sheets of paper were everywhere, coffee cups on the surfaces and post-it notes covered the board. But they had to do this. They had to free Reid.

Penelope typed until her fingers were numb. She stared at her laptop until her eyes began to water and she had to take her glasses off. She arched her back as it began to ache from sitting in the same chair for six-plus hours. Reid was worth everything.

She didn't want to resign from the BAU however what she had told Emily had been completely true. This last year had affected her deeply. It had begun to erode away who she was and this was the last straw. She wanted to believe in justice but right now, it felt like they were far from that.

When Emily sent them the call that they had done it, she could have cried tears of joy (a few might have slipped out). Boy wonder was coming home.

* * *

As Luke, JJ and Reid walked out of the prison, Luke couldn't wait to see Penelope's face.

He wasn't disappointed. Her eyes lit up and she rushed forward to embrace one of her closest friends.

"Let's get my mom back," he whispered and Penelope agreed.

Their eyes met ever so briefly and for the first time in what felt like a long time, Luke saw the sparkle begin to return.

It was because of her that Reid was free. She had worked so hard to get the prints. In Luke's eyes, she was amazing.

* * *

"Were you able to trace where the hack come from?" That was his first mistake; questioning her skills. He should know better by now.

"Do you see what I have to put up with?" Penelope turned to her best friend, looking for support.

"Alvez, you'll always get a location with this one." He placed his warm hand on her shoulders and she could have melted right there and then. Luke obviously hadn't been paying attention. She was the queen of computers.

The team left and as she and Morgan walked to her office, she listened as he spoke about his family. Being a husband and father suited him. There was a spring in his step and a glow to his face, despite the circumstances.

He placed his hand on her face and cupped her cheek. "I am so proud of you. I love you, always." His words made her heart flutter and brought tears to her eyes. She was glad that she got to see him, even if it was only for a short time. Seeing him, Hank and Savannah over a webcam just wasn't enough. The moment was sweet and wholesome and it made her remember the early years.

Then, he had to go and ruin it… "But do you think you could try and be a little friendlier to Alvez?" Her eyes rolled back in her head and she let it loll back.

"Oh my God."

"Hey, look at me. He seems like a pretty alright kid." Penelope had to admit, Morgan was a good judge of character.

"He's-I-It's complicated." If only he knew. "I'll try. I make no promises." Penelope hadn't told anyone about her… fling… relationship… moment of madness with Luke. It was partly because she didn't know how to explain it. 'Yeah, we slept together several years ago and because I was a big scaredy-cat I left before he woke up and now we work together and kiss and touch each other' - it just didn't seem like the type of thing to bring up in conversation. And partly because she wasn't quite sure what she felt. With Kevin, things had just happened and they were so similar… and then he had wanted to get married and that he sent her into a cold sweat. Since then, she had been sure that being in a serious relationship wasn't for her. She didn't know if she wanted marriage.

They playfully flirted as he walked away for her and it was like a piece of her soul was healing. The last few months and the heaviness they had brought to her heart became light and fluffy with just a few moments with her Chocolate Thunder; her best friend.

She felt ready to deal with everything and anything.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Pain and An Olive Branch

Panic filled her heart and dread surged through her veins. She looked at the screen, closed her eyes tightly and then looked at it again. 'No signal' in big red letters for all of her co-workers. She had to do something.

* * *

Penelope stared at her phone screen as the elevator dinged behind her.

"Hey, I came as soon as I could. What's wrong?"

Penelope wanted to feel better now that Matt was here, now that there was someone else who could help but she didn't. The panic was still making her heart beat much faster than was probably healthy and the dread was making her blood run cold. Goose pimples covered her skin and she felt so shaky on the inside.

"They're gone. They're all gone." She showed him her phone screen and she wasn't the slightest bit encouraged when his face reflected hers.

"I'll drive."

"Yeah." Penelope was positive she would struggle to walk at the minute let alone operate a vehicle.

* * *

Every ounce of air that she had left her lungs as she stared at the unmoving body of Stephen Walker. His neck was bent back at an odd angle. No. This couldn't be happening. Luke appeared beside her and his hands grasped the top of her arms.

"He's gone. He's gone," he whispered to her his own voice conveying the hurt that he was feeling as well as the panic that was in the air.

"I can't leave him alone like this." Penelope hated car accidents - no surprise there. And she couldn't leave him. She didn't want him to be alone. His family couldn't be here for him so she would. Nobody deserved to die alone.

Luke left and she heard his feet pounding on the pavement as he went over to where Matt was.

Penelope kept her eyes trained on Stephen as sirens blared around her. Tears fell from her eyes and she sent up a silent prayer that he didn't suffer.

She only moved when she heard JJ gasp in pain from her position at the front of the SUV. She swiped at her tears and went over to her friend who was currently blind. She silently apologised to Stephen. There was nothing she could do to help him but she could help JJ.

She went to her friend and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close.

Two paramedics ran towards them and as Penelope looked around she realised something was missing. Or rather someone.

Where was Emily?

* * *

Penelope watched as Luke answered his phone, spoke to Reid and then got up from his desk and headed towards the elevator.

She quickly jogged out of her office to catch him before he left.

"Hey," she quietly said, not wanting Matt or Reid to know she had left her office.

"Hi," Luke greeted back, dark circles under his eyes. "Monica just rang. She wants to see him."

Penelope nodded. "Okay."

"I don't know how long I'll be…" Luke began to say as he shuffled from one foot to the other.

"You'll be as long as you have to be." Monica would need all the support she could get right now.

After a few seconds of quiet, Penelope spoke. "Luke?"

His eyes met hers.

"Are you alright? You weren't injured in the crash?" She'd looked him over at the crime scene and when they first came back to the headquarters but she was worried that he was injured and not telling anyone.

"No - probably be a bit bruised in the next few days but nothing serious."

Even the thought of him being bruised from the crash was a hard thought to take.

Penelope nodded her head and swallowed. "Give Monica my condolences."

"I will."

Just as she turned, he reached out and took ahold of her hand. "We're going to be alright, chica."

She gave him a small smile just before the elevator dinged to signal it's arrival. Luke gently let go of her hand and stepped inside.

Penelope watched him until the doors closed. She turned around and put her working head back on. When everyone was safe and sound and Scratch was caught she could grieve but right now she needed to work.

* * *

"So… what are you going to do with your six weeks?" Luke asked as he helped Penelope load some of her things into her car - or Esther as she insisted the blue bug be called.

"I'm not sure. Probably play some computer games, watch movies, snuggle with Simon. What about you?"

"There's a new dog agility park near my house that I've been wanting to take Roxy to for a while so I'll probably head there first."

"I'll bet she'll love that." Roxy had loved running as a puppy and she'd spend hours running through the tubes at the rescue.

Speaking of the rescue. "What days are you volunteering at _Second Chances_?"

Luke looked surprised by her question. "I tend to go on the weekend's first thing in the morning. You?"

"Afternoons and evenings… I found out when you were going and tried to make it so I wouldn't see you." She wanted to check she'd got her information right.

Had those words really just come out of her mouth?

"Thanks."

"Sorry." She hadn't phrased that in the best way. "Maybe… maybe we could go together though?"

"I'd like that," Luke told her. "I'd like that a lot."

Penelope Garcia was pleased; she had just offered an olive branch and it had been taken.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Six Weeks

Luke reached back into the car and gently rubbed Roxy's scruff as they waited for Penelope to emerge from her apartment.

"Morning," she chimed when she eventually came down the steps and got into the front of his car. "Good morning, Roxy."

"What took you so long?" Luke asked in mock annoyance - he'd wait forever for her if he had to.

"I was making sure that I had packed Roxy's gift."

"Gift?" Roxy had already received some gifts from Penelope. She adored her leather collar and the treats had gone down very well.

"Yes. I brought Roxy some of those raw dog treats. You don't spoil her enough."

"I spoil her plenty!" Luke argued back, Roxy leaning forward to nudge Penelope's shoulder with her head.

"See - she agrees with me."

"Females - always ganging up on me."

Penelope just laughed. "You make it so easy."

* * *

When they pulled up to the rescue centre, Luke, Roxy and Penelope all exited the car and walked towards the building.

"Well here is a sight I didn't think I'd see," Mickey teased as she approached the small group. Even after all this time she was still working here. She had taken over most of the day-to-day responsibilities and was even looking at arranging more fundraising to help with the rescue's ever-increasing costs.

"Me either," Luke agreed quietly. Next to him, Penelope blushed.

"We've got a busy morning ahead," Mickey told them, handing them both pieces of paper with their schedules on it. "Luke, we had a massive intake of dogs over the past few weeks, all of whom need dog testing so I need you to do that." Luke nodded (because Roxy was so calm, the rescue centre often used her to dog test the new dogs that came in). "And Penelope, with the recent influx of kittens that we've had we've also had a huge interest in adoption so I need you to go through some of the applications."

"Copy that boss," Penelope said as she saluted her.

"See you in the staff room?" Luke asked before they parted ways.

"Definitely."

* * *

This was their routine for the first three weeks of their mandatory six weeks break. Every weekend they would head down to the rescue centre together, Roxy usually with them before they went about their days. They'd see each other in passing and sometimes get to work together. When their jobs had been done for the morning, they'd have lunch together in the staff room before spending an hour or so working on some paperwork. Then Luke and Penelope would go to her apartment where they'd hang out for a few hours before Luke left.

It was comfortable and familiar and as much as Luke loved his job he knew he was going to be slightly disappointed when the six weeks were up. He had enjoyed spending this time with Penelope, away from the prying (and knowing) eyes of the team.

Penelope and Luke were in the staff office looking over some adoption applications when Mickey came stomping up the stairs to the office and opened the door quite violently as she entered.

Penelope and Luke shared a look.

"Everything alright, Micks?" Luke asked.

Mickey dropped herself down in her office chair and covered her face with her hands.

"Lou's adoption just fell through."

"Why?" Penelope immediately asked.

Lou was a wonderful little Belgian Malinois puppy. She had been born at the rescue almost seven weeks ago after her mother had been surrendered in a neglect case. Her mother and her siblings all had new homes lined up but Lou didn't. She was an active puppy who needed a lot of stimulation - apparently, that was too much for some people. A young couple had applied to adopt Lou and had just had their interview; clearly, it hadn't gone well.

"The couple is vegan and decided that Lou should have a vegan diet too." The rescue rehomed to most people; they didn't judge on sexuality, lifestyle or even dress type. But they refused to rehome to individuals who wouldn't give their dogs or cats the proper nutrition that they needed. "I tried explaining that dogs are omnivores and if they didn't want to feed raw that was fine, they are plenty of good biscuits on the market but no! They were adamant that it was vegan or nothing! I even explained the health problems that come with giving a dog such a limited diet but they wouldn't listen. So I told them to leave… I'm not rehoming Lou to somewhere like that."

"Good for you!" Luke told her.

"Yeah but it's not good for Lou. You know the older they are, the harder they are to adopt."

"Maybe we could do something on social media? Take some cute photos?"

"Yeah…" Mickey nodded her head slowly. "That could work." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Shouldn't you two be heading off?"

"We just wanted to finish this paperwork," Penelope said.

Mickey nodded in understanding.

A few minutes later, Penelope put her pen down. "I'm done - you?" she asked Luke.

"Yep," he responded, popping the 'p'.

"Can we do anything before we leave?" Penelope asked Mickey who shook her head.

"Nah, I've got it from here and the afternoon volunteers will be here in a minute. You guys get going."

Penelope and Luke gathered their things (and Roxy) before getting into his truck and going back to Penelope's.

When they got inside, Simon greeted them all enthusiastically. He rubbed against Penelope and Luke and headbutted Roxy until she rolled over onto her belly.

Penelope made them some tea and made sure that Roxy and Simon both had fresh water (Roxy had been given the privilege of having her own bowl over at Penelope's).

They sat on the couch and chatted about everything and anything. Penelope told Luke about the progress she was making with some semi-feral kittens that had come in and he told Penelope about the design plans he and some of the other volunteers were designing for the new dog agility area that was being built.

"I'm sure the dogs will love it," Penelope said. She smiled at him and Luke felt his heart speed up. She just looked so beautiful. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was wearing a simple dress with a tartan pattern.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Penelope asked and Luke blushed furiously.

"I was just thinking about how beautiful you looked." What was the point in lying?

Penelope leaned forward and placed her tea on the coffee table next to his and she sighed.

"Oh Newbie, you know just what to say."

His eyebrows crinkled in confusion for a moment before she placed her lips against his.

It was only brief and short and when she pulled away, she was smiling.

Luke returned her smile and he leaned forward and kissed her.

When his lips touched hers she was still smiling.

His hands went to her hair and he took out the hair tie, letting her locks fall around his hands. He sunk his fingers into her scalp to keep her close as their mouths slanted over each other.

His tongue touched hers and she moaned, shifting closer to him. Penelope placed her hands on the front of his chest and she let her hands run down the top half of his body until she got to the hem of his shirt.

She pulled it up as much as she could until they both had to pull away. The second it was removed, their lips were back together.

Luke's hands went to the back of her dress and he found the zipper with ease. He lowered it down until her position on the couch stopped him.

"Stand up," he breathed against her lips, watching with dark eyes as she did as he asked. "Turn around."

Penelope turned and Luke let his fingers run down the exposed skin until he got to the zipper. He pulled it lower and then stood up, sliding his fingers under the straps of her dress, making it fall down her arms.

He leaned down and placed a kiss to the back of her neck before moving to her left shoulder.

Penelope let out a little giggle when the tip of his tongue flicked out and tasted her creamy skin.

She let her head fall backwards and Luke gently pulled the dress down her body until it was pooled in a heap of fabric at her feet.

His hands wrapped around her body and she turned her face into his neck, kissing the tanned skin that she now had free access to.

One of Luke's hands slid upwards towards her breasts as the other slipped downwards and cupped her through her underwear.

Penelope let out a moan and bit lightly on the skin of his neck.

"Mhm," Luke moaned as his fingers dipped into her underwear.

Penelope let out a whimper and her hot breath fanned against his skin.

She was moist and warm. Her body accepted his fingers and he curled them, stroking her inner walls.

Her ass ground into him and she sucked his ear lobe into her mouth.

"Bedroom," she whispered.

Luke took his hands from her and grabbed her hand, walking confidently towards her bedroom.

When they were inside, he pushed the door too, not wanting Simon or Roxy to disturb them.

Penelope used his belt loops to pull his body towards her before she deftly undid the buckle and then unzipped and unbuttoned his jeans. They fell down his legs and his boxers followed shortly after.

She reached her hand down to grab ahold of his straining erection but he caught her hand before she could touch him.

"Ah-ah." He placed a kiss to her hand and took a moment to take in her confused expression. "I'm naked and you're not. That doesn't seem very fair to me."

"What are you going to do about it?" she teased.

Luke smirked and let his fingers run over the front of her body, gently circling the tops of her breasts before his hands trailed around to her back. He unclasped her bra and let it fall lax on her body before hooking a finger under the shoulder straps and dragging the white cotton material from her body.

He sighed when he finally got to see her pretty pink nipples - they had been a major feature in his dreams lately.

Luke leaned down and captured a nipple in his wet, thoroughly wetting the peak as his tongue slid out and teased the skin.

Penelope's head fell back, pushing her breast further into his mouth as her hands grasped at his biceps.

Luke moved from her left nipple to the right, laving it with his attention and using his tongue to turn the soft flesh into a hard tip.

He pulled himself away from her and up to his full height.

"Sit on the bed," he commanded quietly, watching as she did as he asked once more.

He pushed on her shoulders and she laid down against the soft sheets.

Luke leaned over her and gave her a soft kiss. Then he placed his hands either side of her underwear and dragged the pale pink material down her wonderful legs.

He let them fall to the floor and gazed at her body.

He didn't have long to take her in as Penelope reached forward with her hands and he gladly went into her arms.

They lay together, their bodies rubbing against each other as their hands roamed.

Penelope slipped a hand between them and grasped his erection in her hand. When she grasped the based and pumped upwards, Luke pulled his lips away from hers and placed his forehead on her. He opened his eyes and glanced between them, watching her hand pump him.

" _Chica_ …" he groaned out.

Penelope giggled.

Feeling his hips start to pump in time with her hand and his balls begin to tingle, Luke rolled them slightly so they were both on their sides. He wanted to have fun as well.

His finger skirted towards and into her curls, plunging into her warmth, making Penelope cry out.

He attached his lips to her breast and sucked, determined to bring her to her climax before he reached his.

Penelope writhed and burrowed her head in the mattress, trying to stifle her moans. Her grip on his cock tightened and Luke bucked harshly against her.

His fingers plunged into hers, moving in and out as his thumb set to work on her clit, pushing against the swollen numb as his fingers got wetter and warmer.

"Oh!" Penelope moaned, her hips circling as her eyes squeezed tightly closed.

Luke bit lightly on her breast and pleasure surged through him when she came hard all over his hand, coating his fingers in her juices.

Her grip around his cock loosened slightly and then she did one final pump, harder than before, rubbing her thumb over the tip.

"Ugh…" he groaned and his balls drew up and he came in thick spurts over her stomach.

Their bodies began to relax as they both panted.

It had been a good Saturday.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Cool Hand Luke

"Cool hand Luke, what'cha need?" Penelope immediately said when they were connected.

"Wow, I like the way that sounds, Garcia. You feeling okay?" He still liked his nickname of Newbie but he'd take whatever she'd throw his way. He could feel JJ smile from her seat next to him.

"I am naturally magnanimous in word and deed and when it comes your way, bask in it. What do you want?" Bask in it he would. They were making progress, slow - but it was progress.

JJ and he told her what they needed.

"I am a genie in genealogy, just rub my lamp." Well, now _that_ conjured up all kind of images. Luke had proven he could rub her lamp in all the right ways. Maybe he'd have to remind her…

There was a few seconds of silence. "That came out wrong. Goodbye." Luke wished he could have been a fly on the wall to see the look on her face.

"Wow," Luke remarked.

"What did you do to her?" JJ asked.

He didn't answer her. If only she knew.

* * *

It only took her a few seconds to answer.

Her brow furrowed when she saw who was on the other side. He just smiled.

"Is that offer still open?"

"What offer?"

"You said I could rub your lamp."

Penelope's face flamed. "That wasn't an offer."

"What was it then - a request?"

Penelope shook her head and threw her hand out towards him. She grabbed a hold of his shirt and pulled him so hard he went slightly off balance and fell into her apartment. She closed the door behind him and then roughly slammed him up against it.

"Shut up," she said, pressing her lips against his to make sure that he wouldn't say anything else. His hands went around her waist and he crushed her to his chest, letting her feel every sinuous muscle in his body. She moaned and let her hands slide up to his neck, her fingers tangling themselves in the small hairs on the nape as she angled her mouth to the side slightly.

They spent the last three weeks completely consumed by each other. Her fingers, tongue and mouth had touched every part of him and he had done the same to her. She'd tasted him until he was the only thing she could think about and he'd pleasured her until her brain was mush. But no sex. They avoided that. That seemed like a big step (even though they had already slept together before). Things we different now.

Penelope stepped away from him but kept her hands around his neck, bringing him with her as she backed up until she was sat on the couch and Luke was stood over her.

Her hands went to his belt and as she began to unbuckle it, Luke pushed her hands away and knelt on the ground in front of her.

"You said I could rub your lamp… so that's what I'm going to do."

She rolled her eyes. He'd never let her live that down but when he kissed her, he stopped her mid eye roll and she sunk into the kiss. She placed her hands on his chest and felt the hard muscles of his body through the soft fabric of his t-shirt.

His kisses moved away from her lips to her cheek and then down to her neck. He gently sucked on the skin before pulling at her loose t-shirt with his teeth.

His hands moved from her waist and slipped under the material, feeling the soft warm skin that was waiting for him. He pushed her t-shirt upwards and over her head, letting it land somewhere on the floor. To his delight, she was braless.

Luke let out a groan and immediately attacked his mouth to her right nipple. His tongue travelled over the wrinkled skin and he let the tip flick it ever so slightly.

"Luke!" Penelope cried as her fingers clutched at his head.

He grinned up at her.

He continued his journey down, kissing his way to the waistband of her light pink sweats (they had rainbows on them).

Luke pushed on her stomach lightly to have her sit back on the couch and he pulled the fabric down her legs.

He put her left foot up in the crook of his arm and removed the sweats from that leg before repeating the ministration on the right.

He placed a kiss to the inside of her ankle and looked up, making sure she was alright.

Her usually bright green eyes were dark, her mouth slightly open and her hands clutching the edge of the couch.

It was a wonderous sight.

Luke let his nose trail across the skin of her calf, his tongue dipping into the back of her knee. He felt the muscles in her leg tense.

He ran his over her thigh and breathed deeply, the scent of her creating a fog over his thoughts until all he could think about was _her_.

He hooked his fingers into her underwear and pulled them down, tossing them behind him.

He returned to his place on her thigh and leaned his head against the flesh. He turned slightly and blew a breath of cold air across her pussy, making her squirm and writhe.

"Penelope?" he whispered, feeling her thigh shake under her cheek.

"Chica?" He tried again when she didn't respond straight away.

Her previously closed eyes opened and he saw that they were clouded with lust.

"Can I rub that lamp now?" There was an edge to his voice, his mouth wet with saliva and his tongue ravenous to taste her.

Penelope giggled. "You better," she moaned.

Luke wasted no time and placed his mouth against her, letting her wetness coat his tongue like it was honey. She was warm and thick and her thighs clamped around his head, locking him in place.

He grabbed them and let his fingers stroke the skin there as his tongue stroked against her clit.

He went in softly first, a quick flick here, a quick lick there until she was bucking against him and trying to grind herself on his tongue.

Then Luke decided to up the ante. He opened his mouth and sucked her bundle of nerves inside, his tongue hitting it straight away as Penelope's back arched high into the air and she took everything he gave her.

He worked against her, moving his face from left to right and letting his tongue act as the catalyst.

When her thighs began to quake and her stomach tensed, Luke pulled his mouth away from her.

"Look at me," he told her. "Look at what I'm doing."

Penelope did as he asked and opened her eyes.

Not taking his eyes from her, Luke sucked her clit back into his mouth and used his tongue to flick it hard.

Penelope gasped and her whole boy went rigid before her eyes fell closed and Luke felt the rush of a familiar liquid on his tongue. He licked at her and then sat back, his fingers stroking her thighs as she came down.

Penelope reached her hand out and cradled it against his face.

It was a quiet moment. It was peaceful and nice.

That is until Simon very loudly meowed at the both of them, startling them out of their reverie.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Dirty Cop

Luke watched as she left the room. He wanted to follow her but she didn't look like she wanted any company whatsoever.

"Was it something I said?" Tara asked.

Emily began to explain why she was so upset and Luke was not expecting the answer she gave.

"Garcia was shot?" He repeated the words, mainly to himself, trying to wrap his head around the fact that someone would shoot her.

Luke listened as JJ recounted the details; ten years ago, dirty cop, she was close to exposing him.

"Where is he now?"

"He's dead."

Luke didn't consider himself a violent man but when he heard that he felt himself nodding. "Good." It meant he wouldn't lose his job for killing someone.

"Let's just give her a few minutes - Tara, what were you saying?"

Luke looked behind him where she had exited. The room felt empty without her in it. And his body was seething from the fact that someone would shoot her.

* * *

Penelope had invited them all round to her apartment for a party. Luke was gladly going. She had a smile on her face and seemed in a much better mood than earlier. As he stood next to her, his hand slipped into hers and squeezed. It was quick. But it was there. She turned to face him slightly and smiled. She got the message. _I_ _'m here_.

* * *

"You really don't have to stay," Penelope said as Luke began to wash up the dishes that were in her sink.

"It's no bother." It wasn't - nothing was too much trouble for her. But he wasn't just staying for her. When he heard that she had gotten shot, there was this need inside of him to make sure that she was alright. He'd seen the scar on her stomach before… he'd just assumed it was from something else; falling over, rough-housing with her brothers, anything but a gunshot wound.

"What about Roxy?"

"She's at the sitter's and it's too late to get her now."

Penelope nodded.

They worked in companionable silence, Luke washing as Penelope tidied up.

When her flat had some semblance of order, they both stopped and looked at their handiwork.

"Thanks for helping," Penelope said as she put the trash bag into the trash can. "It's made my life easier."

"Don't worry about it. You've had a rough day."

"Mhm," She mumbled in agreement. She sat down on the couch and kicked her shoes off. Luke sat down next to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered.

She shook her head. "I did my time talking about it. Today just brought up some… bad memories."

"I can imagine." Luke was lucky that he was never shot whilst he was in active combat but he knew people who had been and how they'd struggled. His best friend was struggling right now as it was and he hadn't heard from him in a while. He made a mental note to ring his friend.

Absentmindedly, her fingers drifted over her dress to just under her chest where the scar was. Luke could see in her eyes that she was elsewhere.

His fingers caught hers and he brought them to his lips.

"You still look beautiful with it." It was his attempt at comfort. "It just adds to your story."

Penelope placed a hand on his cheek and stared into his eyes before she pulled him forward and they shared a soft kiss.

Luke placed the hand of hers that he was holding on his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist.

Their kisses were soft and loving, their breath mingling as she took comfort from him.

Luke let his mouth trail down her neck as his fingers ran up her thighs and under her dress.

Penelope lifted herself off the couch briefly so Luke could pull her dress upwards. He removed it from her in a matter of seconds and gently dropped the garment on the floor.

He stared into her eyes and let his fingers graze across the soft apples of her cheeks.

"You are so beautiful and don't let anyone else tell you differently."

Before she could respond or react in any way, Luke placed a kiss against her lips. He then lowered his head to the scar just under her chest. His fingers ran over the ridge. He would never have realised this was due to a gunshot wound. Just thinking about it made him angry. That anyone would want to harm her… and the reason why? He had a hero homicide complex. He shook the thought away as his temperature and heart rate began to increase and not in a good way. This wasn't about that. This was about Penelope. And him. Coming together. _Being_.

He lifted his head once more and carefully removed the straps of her bra from her shoulders. He let them fall down her arms and let the tips of his fingers run over her soft skin.

Penelope reached behind her and unsnapped the clasp, making Luke smile as he let a single finger hook under the middle of her bra and pull it away from her chest, revealing her magnificent breasts.

Luke took her hands in his. He helped her to her feet as he continued to sit on the couch.

His fingers hooked into the sides of her underwear and he glanced up, making sure that this was alright.

Penelope gave him a smile and a nod.

He dragged the underwear away from her, noting the little white polka dots and bow that adorned her black cotton underwear. She was too cute for her own good sometimes.

Luke didn't stop until his knuckles hit the floor at which point, Penelope reached her hands out and placed them on his shoulders, steadying herself as she stepped out of her underwear.

He tossed them somewhere and then looked. Really looked.

He looked at the way her soft hair seemed to sparkle under the dim lights in the room; the way her face tipped to the side slightly as she watched him. The way her breasts heaved with every breath she took and the soft curves of her hips and stomach. He looked at her sweet curls which hid an even sweeter pussy and her thick thighs that trembled when his hands grabbed at them. He continued down to her shapely thighs to her delicate ankles and feet where he saw that she had a light shade of pink on her toes.

Seeing her like this; vulnerable and yet open, Luke knew. He just knew. She was meant for him and he her. He only had to convince her of that.

But now was not the time to think of that.

Luke raised himself up from the couch and her hands went to his shoulders. Her hands ran down the fabric and she untucked it from the waistband of his jeans, her eyes never left his.

He placed his hands on her face as she got to work ridding him of his clothes. Her fingers slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, working their down from his collar, exposing a small amount of skin each time.

When every single button was undone, her fingers smoothed over his chest, dipping into the ridges of muscle.

Penelope slipped her hands underneath the material on his broad shoulders and pushed. It fell to the crooks of his arms and Luke reluctantly took his hands from her face.

The shirt fell to the floor and Penelope took her eyes from his. They went to the waistband of his jeans and her fingers came to rest on the rough fabric.

Luke held his breath.

Leisurely, almost as if she were teasing him, her fingers unbuckled his belt, then the button of his jeans before she pulled the zipper down; the sound echoed around her small apartment.

Penelope hooked her digits into both his jeans and boxers and she pushed them down his leg, leaving him bare and hard for her.

She bit her lip and smile which just caused more blood to rush south.

She held her hand out to him and Luke took it, carefully stepping out of his trousers and boxers and kicking his shoes off before he followed her to her bedroom.

Luke sat on the bed, scooting up to the headboard before Penelope straddled his thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, pushing their bodies together in the most perfect way.

His hands stroked up and down her back before he placed them on her hips and gently held her still as his hips ground up into hers, showing her just how ready he was.

Penelope pulled away from him with dark eyes.

He watched with rapt attention as she reached across to the bedside table and pulled out a small foiled packet.

He sat as still as a statue as she opened the packet and smiled shyly at him, the condom between her fingers.

She sat up on her knees and took the tip of the condom between two fingers. Pinching the tip, she rolled it slowly over his engorged appendage.

Luke let his eyes close and his mouth fall open, pure bliss radiating through his body at the simplest of touches from her.

With his eyes still closed, Penelope pressed a delicate kiss to his nose and then a gentle kiss to his mouth.

"Open your eyes," she whispered.

Luke did as she asked and she directed his gaze down. He watched as his erection slowly disappeared inside her and it took all the strength he had in his body not to blow his load right there and then. Seeing it and feeling it was more than he could handle.

His hands gripped her hips hard and for the first few thrusts, he let her control her.

Up and down, slow and steady, taking all the time in the world.

Her fingers dug into the ridges of his abdomen and she let out a sweet moan. Her head fell back and her eyes closed as pleasure overwhelmed her.

He knew he'd told her before but he had to tell her again, whilst she was like this. Uncaring and free.

Luke put his hands on either side of her face.

Her eyes opened to reveal her beautiful green orbs and the words flew from his mouth.

"You're beautiful. So beautiful."

Penelope didn't respond with words - Luke didn't think she could from the look of ecstasy that was on her face. Instead, she kissed him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, cementing their bodies together and she jerked her hips back and forward, creating a wonderous friction on his cock, the tip rubbing all the right places.

He locked his arms around her back and placed one hand just above her ass. He used it to push her into him, the pressure increasing between them.

Her room was a mix of heady breaths and sweat-soaked skin slapping together. It was a chorus playing on repeat that echoed around Luke's head.

He became focused on Penelope: they way she felt underneath his hands; the way she breathed into his mouth, little moans sneaking out when she pulled her mouth away; the way her body fit just so perfectly with his. Luke's mind became infused with _her._

"Luke," she cried out, yanking her mouth from his.

Luke dropped his head and took her warm nipple into his mouth. His tongue swirled around it and when she began to pant and writhe, he knew it was only a matter of time.

His thighs began to shake and he struggled to keep his eyes open.

His tongue laved at the nipple in front of him once more before he lightly bit down on the flesh.

Penelope's hips slammed against his and her whole body went rigid. Her arms shook and she threw her head back, her blonde locks brushing the smattering of hair on his thighs.

As she clenched around him and let herself go, Luke fell over the edge and let his orgasm consume his whole. His cock wept into the condom and his chest heaved up and down.

He opened his eyes to find Penelope looking at him. She had a soft smile on her face. Her fingers brushed over his face and then she did something quite unexpected.

She leaned in and kissed him so gently it was like a whisper. She pulled away and rested her forehead against his.

Luke let himself enjoy it because who knew when they'd have a moment like this again?


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Breakfast

Penelope stretched her body like a cat in the warm sun. Her muscles protested at the stretch at first and then a feeling of satisfaction washed over her.

She turned her head on the pillow and was shocked to see that the bed was empty. Luke, who had previously occupied the space next to her, was gone. The sheets had been neatly pulled up to the pillow and the pillow fluffed as if no one had ever slept there.

The sadness that flowed through her was unexpected. She felt her eyes prickle and her hands go clammy.

Penelope laid down on her back and pulled the sheet up to her chest, clutching it as if it were her lifeline.

A single tear fell from her eye. It ran down her temple and into her hair. She swiped it away.

She couldn't cry… wouldn't cry. Because if she did. Well, then it meant she was crying because he _wasn_ _'t_ here. And that wasn't an option. They worked together!

The whole situation was wrong but could she stop? No. Did she want to stop? … No.

Simon climbed onto the bed and rubbed his face against hers, her silky fur comforting her.

Her hand reached out and she lightly scratched the top of his head and down his back.

The sound of his purring flowed around the room and she closed her eyes, pretending that it was just another morning and she hadn't woken up alone.

The thought then hit her. Was he doing this to punish her? Because she had left him? Was he trying to show her what it felt like? Is this how he had felt?

It made her feel like crap.

She let out a sigh and grabbed her glasses from her side table. She sat up, with the sheet still clutched to her chest and looked around the room, not quite sure what to do now.

Just as she was about to get out of bed, she heard her front door open.

Panic surged through her. Who the hell was in her apartment?

Penelope froze and waited. And then she heard his voice.

"Shh, Roxy. We've got be quiet, Penelope might not be up." Luke came back?

Slowly, the door to the bedroom opened and Luke entered carrying some coffee cups and a bag with Roxy at his side.

"You're awake!" he said cheerfully. It's perfect timing really as I got us some breakfast and…" He trailed off when he saw her staring at him. "What?"

Penelope shook her head. "Nothing… I just thought you'd left."

"I only went to get a change of clothes, pick Roxy up and grab us some breakfast. I did leave a note on the coffee table." He looked so innocent.

"I've not got up yet," she admitted, a blush covering her cheeks.

"Well, that's perfect. You stay right there," Luke said.

He came over to the bed and sat on the edge. He handed her a coffee cup. "Coffee just how you like it and vegetarian breakfast bagel," he said, reaching into the bag and pulling out her food which was wrapped in a napkin.

"Thanks," she told him, suddenly feeling shy.

"I hope you don't mind that I brought Roxy back."

"Of course not!" Penelope reached out of her hands and gently cooed to encourage Roxy to come closer.

The dog walked over to the bed and immediately put her head under Penelope's palm, brushing up against her and wagging her tail.

"You're such a pretty girl," Penelope told her.

When she looked at Luke he was smiling at the two of them.

"Roxy's welcome any time," she added.

" _Roxy_ is welcome any time?" he clarified and she could see the laughter in his eyes.

"Yes - _Roxy_." They both caught the meaning behind her words. She was too afraid to say what she wanted to say so this seemed like a good compromise.

"Where do you want breakfast?" Luke asked.

Penelope knew what she wanted. But she couldn't bring herself to say it. She wanted to stay in bed… with Luke. Wrapped up together in a cocoon where nothing outside existed.

Alas, she couldn't say that though she so settled for: "At the table."

Luke grinned. "I'll take everything through - meet you in there?"

Penelope nodded and Luke got off the bed, taking the food and drinks as he headed out of the room.

Roxy gave Penelope's hand a quick lick and then trotted out after him. Simon watched Roxy's retreating tail, glanced at Penelope and then decided he would much rather follow her.

He hopped off the bed and out of the room.

Penelope took a moment to compose herself and stood from the bed. She put on some sweats and a loose top before quickly going into the bathroom and brushing her hair.

When she emerged, Luke was sat at the table, the food and drinks set out in front of him. Roxy was laid down next to his chair and Simon had jumped up on his lap.

She took a moment to watch him. He gently rubbed his fingers across Simon's face and the black cat purred away as if he was the happiest he had ever been in his entire life.

Luke's entire form was relaxed, his long legs stretched out under the table and his arms cradling Simon.

His hair was slightly messy and she could see that he'd made an attempt at brushing down the locks. His skin was bright and his mouth curved up into a smile when Simon put his paws on Luke's shoulders and rubbed his face against Luke's.

"You're so handsome," he told him.

Penelope resisted the urge to say anything.

She walked over to the table and when she got close, Luke glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Simon and I were just having some male bonding time."

"I can see that," she said as she sat down opposite Luke and unwrapped her breakfast bagel.

Luke placed Simon on the floor and he meandered over to his cat tree that was in the corner and jumped up, settling himself on the highest section of it.

Breakfast was a quiet but nice affair. They chatted about everything and anything - except for what happened last night. Luke told her about the sitter and how much Roxy adored her and Penelope told Luke about some of the adventures she and her brother's had gotten up to when they were younger.

After breakfast, Luke helped Penelope clean up and she reluctantly walked him and Roxy to the door.

"Thanks for breakfast," she told him.

"It's no problem."

Silence fell between them.

"And thanks for last night - for being there."

Luke smiled. "I told you, I don't mind being the person you come to when you need to talk to someone."

Penelope felt the corners of her mouth quirk up. "Bye Luke." She leaned down and petted Roxy on the head. "Bye Roxy."

"Bye Penelope."

She stayed standing in her doorway as Luke and Roxy left her apartment and walked down the steps. She walked out of her apartment and onto the terrace and watched as Luke and Roxy got into his car.

She continued to watch him and when after he had turned the engine over, he opened his window and threw her a wave. She gave him one back.

He left the apartment parking lot and Penelope found herself staring at the spot he had left. It didn't look right without his car there.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Lou

Penelope heard a knock on the door to her office and she swirled her chair around in time to see Luke peak his head in. "You got a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." She wasn't sure what he wanted to talk about and she kind of hoped that it wasn't about their relationship.

"Has Lou been adopted yet?"

His question took her off guard but she was glad of the topic.

"I don't think so… why?"

Luke smiled at her. "I think I might have found her a home."

"Seriously? Mickey will be so pleased!"

Mickey didn't like puppies growing up in the rescue. She liked to see them in a home, curled up on a couch next to a human companion. She liked to see them loved.

Luke nodded. "I need to work some things out - think you can help?"

Penelope grinned. "I know I can help. Sit." She gestured to a free chair, excited to hear what Luke had to say.

* * *

Penelope giggled as Lou licked at her chin. "Are you excited?" she whispered to the small puppy. "You get to meet your new daddy soon!"

She was stood outside the room as Luke spoke to his friend Phil. She was so pleased that he'd allowed her to part of this. She was getting an insight into his world - and she liked it.

Luke had confided in her. It had been Prentiss' words that got him; when you have someone counting on you, you find a strength that you didn't know you had." It was how Luke had adapted to civilian life. Having Roxy gave him a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It gave him a reason to get out of the house. She had helped him more than she could ever know.

And now Luke wanted to help his friend. Prentiss' words had sparked an idea. He sat on it for a few hours and he couldn't see the downside. He'd spoken to Penelope and then Mickey and within a few hours, everything was sorted.

Caught up in her own thoughts, Penelope missed Luke's cue. "Oh - now?"

"And in that spirit!" he said a little louder.

"Oh!" she squeezed Lou and walked into the room, coming face to face with Luke's best friend.

She stood next to Luke and one hand came up to tickle Lou as the other rested lightly on her back

"This is Lou," he explained. "And she is going to need lots of love and walks… so you need to get better."

Phil chuckled and Penelope met his eyes.

"Hi," she said, excitement overwhelming her. "This is Lou." She presented the dog to him and Phil took her.

Lou sat in his lap and he took her in.

"Are you going to be my buddy?"

Lou was still for a second and then she began to lick at his face.

Phil looked at them both. "I think Lou's going to be my buddy." Pure glee was spread across his features but Penelope could see the gratefulness in his eyes too.

He tickled her and Penelope reached forward (mainly because she couldn't help herself) and let her fingers run through the short fur on her head.

Phil reached his hand out and Luke took it, bending down to hug him.

"Thank you, brother," he whispered. "Thank you, man."

It brought a tear to her eye. Not only had Lou found a new home but Phil had found a reason to keep going.

Luke returned to her side as Phil doted on the dog. His arm slid around her waist and rested on the small of her back. They exchanged a smile.

Everything was good.


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Fight

Luke let his head loll back against the couch as Penelope kissed as the caramel skin revealed to her. Her fingers skimmed down his bare chest and she felt the ridges of his muscles clench underneath her touch.

"You're driving me crazy," he groaned from above her, one hand on her waist as the other tried to creep under her dress.

"Uh-uh," she whispered against his skin. "My turn to play."

Luke tried to distract himself from what she was doing, the way her fingers danced across his skin and the way her tongue laved a path from his ear to his neck and back again. "You were flirting with me."

"I wasn't." His words did nothing to deter her.

"You were - you said 'my ears are the same temperature as the rest of my body - hot'." He turned his face to hers and capture her lips with his. "That was flirting - it conjured up all kinds of images in my mind."

"Not my problem," she retorted. Her fingers fell to his belt buckle. "I wonder what's in here?" she teased. "Something big I hope."

Luke pressed a hand to the back of her neck and kissed her hard, his passion for her no longer contained.

Their bliss was interrupted when Luke's phone rang out.

"Sorry," Luke whispered against her, pulling his hands from her and leaning forward to retrieve his phone which sat on the coffee table. "It's Phil," he told her.

She nodded in understanding. He'd told her all about him. Their time together, their friendship - everything. And she got it. She understood his need to be there for him.

"Hey, Phil."

"Hey, Luke. You busy?"

Luke looked at Penelope who had sat back against the couch and was running a finger over the top of her breasts.

"Kind of…" he was distracted as her fingers dipped into her cleavage. His tongue wanted to follow those digits.

"Well, I wanted you to know that I booked you and Lisa a table at that restaurant I spoke about."

At first, his words didn't register. How could they when Penelope was sat less than two feet away slowly ridding herself of her clothes?

Then they hit him. "What? Lisa - as in your physical therapist?"

Penelope stopped what she was doing.

"Yeah. I've mentioned her before and I spoke to her about it and-"

"And nothing. You are a great guy and she is a great woman - you'll be perfect for each other." Phil paused. "It's not like you're seeing anyone else right?"

Luke looked at Penelope and didn't have an answer. Was he seeing Penelope?

Phil took Luke's silence for agreement. "Great! It's Thursday at six - I'll give you her number and the address of the restaurant."

"Phil-"

"See you around, brother!"

The line went dead and Luke pulled the phone from his face and stared at the screen before turning to look at Penelope.

"So you have a date?" was all she said.

"Apparently so… I'll contact her and say I can't make it."

"Why would you do that?" Penelope sat up against the couch as a strange look passed across her face.

"Because… of us."

"What about us? We're not exclusive." She stood up and turned away from Luke, walking away from the couch as she did so and into the kitchen.

"Are we not?" Luke stood and followed her.

"Well, we never labelled this as anything." She went over to the sink and leaned against it, her eyes still not meeting his.

"No, we didn't." He was speaking slowly, almost as if not to frighten her.

"So why label it now?"

Luke was thoroughly confused by her behaviour; didn't women want to define what their relationship with a man was? Didn't they want the clarity and security that came with being a defined relationship? That's what Luke wanted.

"So you're perfectly okay with me going on a date with another woman?"

Penelope nodded and looked away… then she swallowed.

Luke felt himself getting angry. Did he not mean anything to her? Was their relationship that fickle and meaningless?

"So if another man asked you out on a date I'd have to be alright with it…regardless of how I feel about you?"

The next words she uttered cut through him. "We're just fooling around."

"Fooling around?" Suddenly Luke felt very vulnerable and exposed with his shirt off. He angrily walked away from Penelope and picked his shirt. He shoved his arms through the sleeves and angrily began to button it up. "If you think that this is all we are, then maybe I will go on that date."

He left her apartment as he jogged down the steps to his car, he heard Penelope call out to him. "Luke!"

He was too angry to turn back and talk to her. He really thought that she had developed feelings for him. He really thought that they were getting on and that… maybe that had a future together. Evidently not.

He was hurt. To him, their relationship was so much more than just fooling around. But if she didn't feel that way, there was nothing he could do about that.

**I realised that some of you may not be aware of the reason for my absence two weeks ago. A family member of mine had a heart attack and ended up having to stay in the hospital to have heart surgery and I just didn** **'t feel like posting anything. I apologise for that delay and I hope you can all understand. Said family member is now home and recovering. Stay safe everyone.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Lisa

Luke sat across the table from Lisa as she told him about her brothers. She was nice… pretty… funny. But she wasn't blonde. And she wasn't colourful. And she wasn't Penelope.

Things had been awkward since that night. It had only been a week but it had arguably been the worst week of his life. And he'd been in Iraq!

"Okay… you're not into this, so why don't you tell me what's going on?" Lisa said as she sat back against her chair and folded her arms over her chest.

"No, I am…" Luke began before stopping. She was very nice and he didn't want to lie to her. "Phil strong-armed me into this. There's this woman."

"Ah." She nodded in understanding. "I'm guessing Phil doesn't know?"

"No… no one does."

"Tell me about her."

"Are you sure?" Luke looked at her.

"Yeah," Lisa said.

"Alright, well her name is Penelope and she is the most fascinating woman I have ever met. She's kind, smart, funny, beautiful. We spent the night together three years ago and there hasn't been anyone else since. We met again and the fireworks are still there." Luke looked down at the table. "I thought we had something until the other night when she said she didn't care if I went on a date. She said we were just fooling around." He paused. "I thought we were more than that."

Lisa looked across the table at him with sympathy.

"I think she's scared."

"Of me?" That thought horrified him.

"No," Lisa gave him a small smile. "I think she's probably been hurt in the past and she's scared of getting hurt again. Especially if she feels strongly for you."

"I don't know how she feels about me."

Lisa opened her mouth to say something and then her eyes were drawn to something behind him.

"I think someone wants to get your attention."

Luke looked behind him and saw Penelope stood at the bar, a tentative look on her face as she waved at him.

He went over to her, not quite understanding why she was there.

"I know you're on a date and I'm sorry but we've got a case." She glanced behind Luke at Lisa. "She's pretty."

Luke didn't acknowledge her comment. He was slightly surprised when he went back over to the table to apologise to Lisa and Penelope followed him.

"Lisa Douglas, this is Penelope Garcia." Lisa knew exactly who she was and a large grin appeared across her face. "We work together at the BAU and we've got a case. I'm just going to go and talk to the waiter but stay here and get coffee, dessert, whatever you want." Lisa smiled and he turned away.

* * *

Penelope watched Luke's back as he left and then turned back to Lisa. She wasn't jealous. Honestly. She was just curious about her.

The last week had been rough between her and Luke and everyone in the team had sensed the tension. She didn't know why she had said what she had.

She didn't want him to see someone else - certainly not someone as pretty as Lisa!

"Luke's a great guy. Easy on the eyes… or so I've heard some people say." She was rambling and fully aware. But she couldn't get her mouth to stop working.

The more she talked, the more Lisa smiled and the more Penelope realised she was giving away.

When Luke returned and placed a hand at her waist, she felt herself simultaneously calm down and become hyper-aware of his presence.

"I'll call you," he told Lisa and Penelope felt herself stiffen.

"Alright," Lisa smiled (did she ever not?) and waved them off as they left the bar and headed out into the chilly night air.

"Luke," Penelope called as they reached the parking lot. "I know we've got a case but I need to talk to you."

"Okay." His hand had long left her waist and he crossed his muscled arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry about last week - about Lisa." She gestured towards the bar. "I didn't know what to say and I panicked and that wasn't fair to you… or us."

He remained silent.

She looked down at the floor and toed a loose piece of gravel with the toe of her heel. "I like being with you. You're a really good person and I can't imagine my life without you in it." The next bit was difficult to say. "If you want to see other people that's… fine." It wasn't. "But if you want it to be just us, then I'd like that."

Silence.

"But there's no pressure."

Luke reached a hand out and cupped her face. "Chica - since that night three years ago, it's only ever been you."

Placing his other hand on her other cheek, Luke held her face still as he leaned in and placed the softest kiss to her lips.

When he pulled away, she was feeling much calmer and he had a satisfied look on his face.

He took her hand in his. "Let's go catch a bad guy."

**Thank you all for your kind words last week.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Reconnecting

Penelope took Luke's ear into her mouth and let her tongue roam around the flesh as she moaned when he pushed on her lower back and sent himself deeper inside her.

"You feel so good," she whispered into his ear, the words a struggle to get out as pleasure flowed through her body like a river.

She felt him grin against her neck.

They were sat on her bed, Penelope astride Luke as her legs were wrapped around his back and his hands were around her waist… well one was, the other was moving over her body; touching and squeezing whatever he could.

His thrusts were slow and meaningful - this was not fast and furious fucking; this was them reconnecting.

His mouth attached itself to his neck and he sucked her skin into his mouth, marking her. Normally she would have said something, pulled back and asked him not to. But Penelope wanted it. She wanted a mark that said she was his.

Nobody would see it. She would have to cover it up but she would know it was there and so would Luke… and that was all that mattered.

The whole Lisa situation had sent her into a tailspin. She was ashamed of how she acted but she got scared. Luke made her feels things that she had never felt before - not even for Kevin. And that relationship hadn't ended on the best of terms. Penelope understood marriage but it was never something she saw for herself. When she found out Kevin was looking at rings, well it sent a panic through her and she realised that she didn't want to take the next step with him. After their break up she had avoided men. Until Luke. He had broken down her barriers. And it felt good.

"Stop thinking so much," Luke quietly said into her ear. "Come back to me." To emphasise his point, he thrust up into her at an angle and hit that oh-so-sweet spot.

Penelope moaned and wrapped her legs tighter around him as heat blazed across her skin.

Luke placed a steadying hand on her back and used her free hand to wrap around the back of her neck and pull into a feverish kiss.

"This is us," he told her breathlessly. "You and me." Luke pulled away and looked directly into her eyes. Penelope could see nothing but honesty… and love.

It didn't scare her though; not like she thought it would. It pushed her to the precipice an over the edge as she fell into bliss right in Luke's arms, their bodies wrapped around each other.

She cried out and clung to him as Luke buried his face in her chest, his hot breath fanning across her already heated skin.

Penelope rested her head against his and let herself be in the moment.

She had been so scared that she had blown it with Luke and it had taken a lot of courage to tell him the truth. That night at the restaurant, when he said it had only been her, well her heart had almost jumped out her chest with joy.

She just needed to find the courage to tell him the same.


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

The Arrival of Linda Barnes

Luke looked around the bar and couldn't believe that Penelope would invite him to such a place. It was seedy, greasy and he was pretty sure that the floor was caked in some sort of mixture of urine and peanut shells. The patrons of the bar didn't look much better.

His eyes scanned the darkened room until he found her and he had to halt the laugh that bubbled up in his throat. She was sat on a barstool, reading a magazine about tattoos whilst wearing a ridiculous oversized sun hat and a pair of equally oversized sunglasses. He walked over and slid on the school next to her.

"What's going on, Chica?" he couldn't hide the amusement in his voice.

"What are you wearing?" she hissed. He looked down at his clothes and saw nothing wrong with them. He was wearing his deep red shirt, jeans and boots. The exact same thing he had worn to work.

"What are you wearing?" he countered with, noting the slight blush that came to her cheeks.

"I'm in disguise!"

"Disguise?" Luke let out a laugh. "It's a good job your not in Special Ops - you'd be seen immediately!"

Penelope's nostrils flared.

"You're wearing a big floppy hat and sunglasses… inside! With a yellow dress! You'd be less conspicuous if you wore a sign over your head!"

"Keep your voice down!" Her eyes scanned around the bar and Luke found himself looking around too.

"What are we looking for?"

With an exasperated sigh, she pulled him to sit at the barstool next to him. When he turned to face her she used her hand to physically turn his face the other way. "Pretend we're not together."

He threw his hands up in the air. "What's going on?"

Penelope let out a sigh and tilted her face down as she looked at him over her sunglasses. How she could see anything with them on was a mystery to him - it was already quite dark in the bar.

"Linda Barnes…" she started quietly. "What if she's here because she heard about us?"

"She's not," Luke tried to reassure her. "Matt says she's got a bee in her bonnet and we're the targets."

Penelope was quiet for a second.

"What if she finds out about us?"

"She won't."

"But if she does… Prentiss could get in trouble, we could lose our jobs."

Luke could see where he lined of thought was going.

"Hey," he reached out and grabbed one of her hands with his. "She's not going to find out. No one's going to get in trouble."

In her green eyes, he could see the worry and fear in them.

He didn't want to say the next words but he knew that he had to. "Why don't we cool things down for a few weeks? Just while she's here…"

Penelope looked at him. "You wouldn't mind?"

His chest clenched with the sound of her voice. "Of course not, Chica."

Her fingers timidly wrapped around his and squeezed. "Thank you."

Luke brought her hand to his mouth and gently kissed the skin on the backs of her fingers.

"Now - what on earth made you think that wearing this was a disguise?" He wanted to change the conversation to something lighter.

Penelope giggled. "I guess it was a silly decision."

Luke smiled as she began to talk and he got lost in the sound of her voice.

Cooling things off was the last thing he wanted to do - but so was making Penelope uncomfortable. It was clear that Barnes' presence was doing that for her. The sooner she left the better. Not only would it stop Penelope worrying and they could get back to where they were, but it would return Prentiss to her rightful position - leading the team.

**Sorry for the wait. I hope you enjoyed this.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Listen to Lisa

Phil shook his head at his friend from across the pool table and tutted. "Why on earth would you do that?"

Luke look bewildered at him before turning to Lisa for support.

"He did the right thing," she told Phil. "As a woman, we like to have space and Luke is giving her just that."

Phil blew a raspberry. "Linda Barnes will be gone as soon as she arrived and then you and your team can get back to doing what you do best. You should have told Penelope just that and then kissed the crap out of her."

The only reason Phil knew about Penelope was Lisa. The doctor couldn't keep a secret, so when Phil had asked her how her date with Luke went she told him about Penelope. Phil laughed and told Lisa he'd just have to find her someone else.

"I didn't want to push her."

"Ignore him," Lisa said as she walked around the pool table and sunk a ball into the pocket with practised ease. "The fact that you're willing to wait will not go unnoticed."

"I hope so." Luke took a swig of his beer. "It's killing me not to be with her."

Lisa leaned against the pool table to listen to him as Phil rolled closer.

"I can see how much Barnes is affecting her and there's nothing I can do about it." He paused. "Do you know what she did? Penelope was coding something and Barnes peered over her shoulder and asked her to send the information to her. Penelope asked why and she told her it was to 'make sure it was relevant'." Luke could feel his blood starting to boil.

"Does she even understand computer code?" Phil asked.

"No!" Luke told him. "She isn't even a profiler."

"She sounds like a waste of space," Phil muttered.

"Don't be mean," Lisa chided. "I'm sure that once she sees you guys have everything under control, she'll back off."

"I don't think so…" Luke blew out a breath. "That's not her style. Matt's been telling me about her."

Phil and Lisa's faces mirrored each other - eyebrows pulled together and lips slightly down in looks of concern.

"An annual review is the exact same thing that Barnes did to another section of the FBI before she disbanded the unit. She starts with the head of the team, then she works her way down… Matt said she even tried to pit them against each other."

"That won't happen to you though, Alvez," Phil said. "You and your team - you're tight. You said it before: you're a family."

"Even families can fall out."

"Have some faith," Lisa advised. "Do you trust the members of your team?"

"Of course." Luke didn't even have to think about the answer. He'd put his life on the line for any of them and he knew they would do the same.

"Then I can almost guarantee that they trust you." Lisa smiled at him. "Trust that you have enough faith in each other and you'll get through this."

From his wheelchair, Phil nodded enthusiastically. "That's good advice - listen to Lisa."

The sombre moment passed and Phil poked Luke in the back of the knee with his pool cue.

"What was that for?" Luke asked as Lisa laughed.

"For not telling me about Penelope."

"I didn't tell anyone."

"You told Lisa!"

"What can I say?" Lisa interrupted them. "I'm good at interrogating people."

"He's meant to be in the FBI! If he can't stand an interrogation under you, he might as well quit his job!" Luke smiled at his friend because he was finally seeing the old Phil. The Phil who laughed and joked and didn't take life too seriously.

"I'm an excellent FBI agent I'll let you know," Luke boasted, sticking out his chest for dramatic effect.

Phil huffed. "As long as you're better than your army ranger days, it'll be an improvement."

Luke stared at him gobsmacked and fought the grin that curled up the edges of his lips.

Lisa laughed and Phil smirked at him.

For a minute, Luke forgot about Linda Barnes.

**Hello everyone. I hope you're all doing well. Sorry for my absence lately. If you follow my Tumblr then you'll know that the last few months have been very difficult. Everything came to a head a few weeks ago when very unexpectedly, we lost one of our dogs. It was such a shock and so heartbreaking that I just needed to step back from everything. I've spent a few days just resting, gaming and being with my family and I feel much better for it. Thank you for your patience.**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Reassigning

Reid had said what they were all thinking. No one could deny that - no one was going to.

"These people still deserve justice." They were the words that got Luke moving because JJ was right. Those poor people needed someone to solve their murders and capture their killer. Would Linda Barnes do it? No.

Everyone left the room and Luke caught Penelope staring out of the window with a look of sadness on her face. He knew she was missing Emily. She'd been MIA from everything.

He swept his hand across the table, knocking his pen and some papers on the floor. He bent down to retrieve them and when he stood back up, only he and Penelope were left in the room.

He reached across the short distance and twined his fingers with hers. This was the first time he had touched in… God, he didn't even want to think about it. They hadn't even spoken on the phone or text for fear that Barnes may use it against them. He was giving her space even though it was killing him. But it wasn't just about him any more. He was no longer a lone range but part of a team… a family. And the BAU needed him to play his part and so that's what he was doing.

"It's going to be okay," he told her in a low voice. He squeezed her hand in his and then dropped it. He gave her a small smile and walked out. He wanted to stay and talk to her, comfort her but wasn't going to give Barnes any ammunition.

* * *

Luke knocked on her door. He wasn't quite sure what to expect. Would she send him away? He shouldn't be here but after the blow they had received several hours earlier, he couldn't think of anywhere else he wanted to be. Barnes was a real piece of work. Only three of the original team remained.

Next to him, Roxy whined and nudged her face into his thigh.

"I know, Rox," he soothed.

He heard footsteps coming towards the door before it opened and when it did, Luke wanted nothing more than to tell AD Barnes what he really thought of her.

Penelope's face was red from crying and her bright eyes were dull. Her clothes had been changed and she was wearing a pair of pyjamas with cartoon cats on.

"Luke…" she breathed before launching herself into his arms and wrapping them around his neck. His arms went around her waist and he held her tight.

"She's an awful woman!" she said into his neck and Luke nodded in agreement. It was so nice to have her in his arms again, despite the circumstances.

Penelope pulled away and her fingers swiped at the tears that leaked from her eyes.

Luke cradled her face in his hands. "Don't cry, chica. She's really not worth it."

"She's breaking us up. We're a family and she's just come in and ruined everything."

Luke pressed his head against her forehead. "I know it feels that way but we're going to be back together."

"How are you this optimistic?" she asked. Penelope's hands held his wrists and she stroked her thumbs across the skin.

_Because I have you. Because I lost you three years ago and I_ _'m not going to lose you again_.

"Because I am."

Roxy whined and Luke and Penelope untangled themselves.

"I'm sorry sweet girl," Penelope cooed. "I didn't mean you ignore you." She crouched down and gave Roxy a chin tickle, running her hand through the dog's fur.

When she stood, Roxy confidently walked inside. Penelope giggled and took Luke's hand, leading him in too.

Once they were inside and the door had been shut behind them, Penelope turned to face Luke.

"What?" he asked when she continued to look at him without speaking.

"Technically, we no longer work together."

Her words didn't mean anything to him at first and then it clicked. He grinned at her and she grinned back.

Then she launched herself into his arms and they kissed.


	23. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Too Long

Penelope knew how much she missed Luke, she just hadn't quite realised how much until he was on top of her, kissing her as if his life depended on it.

His hands were everywhere and she welcomed their touch. He sent chills and fire through her simultaneously and nothing felt like enough.

They were both naked but she wanted more.

Penelope reached down between them and grasped ahold of his rock hard erection. She ran the tip over her folds and he pulled his lips away, a deep groan emanating from his throat.

She pulled her free hand away from his delicious backside and used it to grab a condom from the bedside table.

She pulled the rubber out of its packet and when she slid it down his cock, Like pressed his face against her chest and inhaled deeply, willing his body to calm down.

It had been too long.

Once he was covered, Penelope placed the tip at her entrance and gently guided him, their moans sounding loud in the otherwise quiet bedroom.

"So good," he whispered against her skin, moving his face slightly to he could catch a nipple in his mouth as his hips found a rhythm that suited them both.

"Mhm," she mumbled because he wasn't wrong.

His thick, long cock stroked the insides of her, sparking a heat that started in her core and spanned outwards to her limbs. It left her panting and moaning and wanting more.

"Luke!" She clutched onto his back and raised her hips to meet her, jarring his rhythm.

For the second, when he lost it, Penelope pushed on Luke's shoulder and rolled them so she was on top.

She was met with a look of surprise.

She said nothing and instead placed her hands on his chest and rose herself up and down, jerking her hips and making sure she took him in deep.

Luke groaned and furiously grasped at her hips, helping her move as he threw his head back into the pillow and closed his eyes, his body thoroughly enjoying what she was doing to him.

When she looked down, she let out a moan. The muscles in his neck were tensed and he looked so sexy with his eyes closed. His mouth was half open and he was panting like he had just run a marathon.

Penelope felt his legs began to shake under hers but she wasn't done yet. She didn't want it to be over.

She reached a hand between them and tentatively touched her clit, slowly and gently at first - a contrast to the way she was currently riding Luke. She pressed down on her bundle of nerves and a shiver rocked through her body.

"Oh!" she moaned, feeling a renewed sense of pleasure start.

Luke opened his eyes and leaned his head forward slightly, his mouth falling all the way open when he saw exactly what she was doing to herself. It was unlike anything he had ever seen - sure he'd seen women touch themselves, but Penelope doing it? Whilst he was balls deep inside of her? Well, it was all his birthdays and Christmas' come at once.

Penelope saw him watching and she took her hand from his chest and reached out to him. "Luke…" She wanted him closer.

Luke willing obliged. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her back, placing one just above her bottom so he could angle her thrusts a bit better and hit that spot inside her that would drive her wild.

His other hand snaked around to her chest and he took a large breast between his fingers, squeezing the pliant skin before rolling her nipple in the exact same way.

Penelope moaned and her movements faltered for a second before she picked up the pace, her thighs slapping against his creating a wonderful sensation.

When he took her nipple in his mouth and ran his tongue over the already puckered peak, she threw her head back and arched her chest into his mouth, willing him to do it again.

He did and when he released it and it made a popping sound, Penelope pressed down harder on her clit and increased her movements.

"So close," she found herself whispering.

"Good," Luke told her. He pressed on her back, causing his cock to push up against her and her body jerked.

"Ah!"

"There we go," he teased. He let go of her breast and placed a hand on the back of her neck.

"Look down," he encouraged. "Look down and see us together."

She did as he asked and whimpered because God it was hot. She got to see him sliding in and out of her, his cock swollen and hard as her walls began to clamp down on him, harder and harder.

He placed a finger under her chin and brought her eyes back up to his. "No one will ever stop this." He was breathless and almost lost to the pleasure but he needed to say this. "As long as you want this, you can have it." She could have it all if she just asked; just let her walls down.

"I want it," she cried. "I want it!"

With a deep kiss to her lips and a deep thrust inside her, Penelope came. Her hand left her clit as her body spasmed on top of Luke's, his arms wrapping around her as he swallowed her cries of pleasure.

Five thrusts later and he was coming inside her, his cock weeping with joy that he was finally reunited with her. His balls drew up and his thighs trembled.

Penelope placed her forehead against his and panted. He pushed some tendrils of hair out of her face.

She turned and placed a kiss to the palm of his hand.

"It's been too long, chica," he told her.

Penelope wanted to tell him it had been. That she wanted to say screw it and screw Barnes. But she loved her job. So she just nodded. Because he was right (not that she'd ever tell him that). It had been too long.

Luke lowered himself down onto the bed and Penelope rolled off him. When he had disposed of the condom, she pressed herself into his side.

"Can you stay tonight?"

"Yeah," Luke replied, wrapping both of his arms around her, almost as if he were afraid that Barnes would take her away.

"I'm dreading work tomorrow," Penelope said in a small voice.

Luke raised his head so he could look down at her. "Me too - but just remember; the BAU is a family and we're going to get through this together."

His words made her heart clench.

She stroked a finger over his face. "Together."


	24. Chapter 24

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Happy Ending

"I wonder if Garcia knows how much we miss her?" JJ asked to no one in particular.

Luke didn't say anything. Of course she knew. He'd mumbled it against her thigh as he tasted her the other night.

Afterwards, they had laid together, his head on her soft stomach as her fingers ran through his hair, comforting him.

"I don't like my new position," she had told him in a quiet voice. "It's not me. I miss you all."

"It's not the same," Luke said in response. "The team, Matt, JJ and I… we're not making a difference."

Penelope's fingers never stopped what they were doing.

"She asked me about leaving… about going solo again."

Her fingers slowed down slightly and he felt her body tense under his.

"I told her my place was here. The BAU, you - you're my family."

With her free hand, Penelope laced her fingers with his and squeezed.

"I can't imagine you not being on the team," she admitted.

Luke was glad she couldn't see his face as a large grin spread across it. "Chica… are you… being nice to me?"

Penelope knocked her knee into his lightly. "I'm always nice to you, Newbie… in fact, I think I was _very_ nice to you earlier."

_Yes, she was._

"That was enjoyable," he admitted, their teasing making the atmosphere light again.

"Have you seen Phil lately?"

Luke shook his head against her stomach. "Not for a few weeks. I need to make sure he's doing alright." He let his hand stroke down the soft skin of her leg and back up again.

"How's Lou?"

"She's great," Luke said. He reached his long arm across the bed to the side table and grabbed his phone from the top of it. He scrolled through it for a second before handing her his phone.

She pressed the play button in the centre of the screen, letting out a little squeal of delight when she saw the sweet little puppy bound into sight.

"Look at her!" Penelope said, pleased to see her not only looking healthy but happy. Phil, who she assumed was behind the camera, threw a toy and Roxy went chasing after it, her legs flailing about as she skidded to a stop, the toy in her mouth. She turned back to Phil, put her front end low to the floor and raised her bum in the air, wagging it ferociously. Phil then called her and she bounded back to him, jumping into his lap before the camera went blank. "I'm so glad they're getting on."

"Yeah - he loves her. She goes everywhere with him."

"I love hearing about the happy endings that the animals get. Some of them come in and they've been so neglected that seeing them in a nice home makes me go all warm and fuzzy."

As Luke lay there, in her bed, his head resting on her, Roxy and Simon in the next room… he had to wonder; would they ever get their happy ending?


	25. Chapter 25

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Frenzied

They rode the elevator down in silence. Neither of them said anything until the elevator dinged and they got out?

"My place?" Luke asked and Penelope nodded. "I need to go home and feed Simon and then I'll be over."

Her fingers brushed his as she walked past him and went towards her car. Luke watched her until she drove out of the parking lot. He took a moment to breathe and then got into his car, started the engine up and headed home.

When he got inside, Roxy was laid on the couch. She got up and greeted him. He bent down and buried his face in her fur before standing and letting her outside.

He changed out of his clothes into something less… restricting and closed his eyes.

He only opened them when Roxy nudged her thigh with her face. He bent down again and looked into her brown eyes. "Today was a bad day," he told her.

He didn't know how Matt had kept it together. If it had been Penelope in that building… _no_ … he couldn't.

Luke stayed with Roxy, letting her presence comfort him until Penelope arrived.

It felt like a lifetime before the doorbell rung.

He practically ran to the door, opening it. His eyes drank her in and she opened her mouth to speak - but she didn't have the chance to say anything.

Luke grasped her waist and in one fluid motion, pulled her inside and shut the door behind her.

Then, he kissed her so hard that she ended up pinned against the door, Luke breathing heavily against her.

There were no words exchanged as he hitched her skirt up and pulled her underwear to one side, her hands working feverishly on his jogging bottoms to work them down his strong legs along with his boxer shorts.

In seconds he was inside her… and it was relief. It was heaven. It was _home._

He pressed his face against the warm skin of her neck and closed his eyes, losing himself in her. He hitched one of her legs up around his hips as he hands gripped at his shoulders and she let him take what he needed from her.

She was letting out little moans and groans, her fingers digging into his skin.

It wasn't romantic. It wasn't sweet. It was carnal and raw… and everything that Luke needed right now.

Strangely enough, it hadn't occurred to him how dangerous his job was… not before today. It didn't matter if he got hurt… but then he had realised that Penelope could get hurt. Penelope could be in the wrong place at the wrong time… and one day he might be staring at a screen with her face in the middle and a gun pointed to her head.

With a loud grunt, Luke released inside of her, squeezing her large thigh in his hand as she gripped his hair and forced his mouth to hers.

When he came down from his high, he realised that Penelope hadn't found her release and so, like the gentleman he was, he pulled out and let his finger find its way in between her folds.

"It's alright," Penelope began as her eyes widened. "You don't have to ah-"

Her pupils dilated and her mouth fell open when he found that spot. Luke smiled.

"I most certainly do." His fingers worked her into a frenzy and in record time, already worked up from before, Penelope had flung her head back against the door and let out a moan as pure pleasure washed over her.

Luke carefully placed her shaking thigh to the ground and whilst she recovered, he sucked his fingers into his mouth to get the taste that was so quintessentially her off them. He placed his hands on her cheeks, causing her to open her eyes.

He wanted to say the words. To finally have her hear them… and accept them.

But not like this. Not after a frenzied fuck against his door. Not when they were partially clothed and there was every chance his dog had spent the entire time watching them.

He would do it after a nice dinner when they were dancing. When he was holding her close and could feel every inch of her body pressed against his. He would lower his lips to her ear and whisper them. She would look at him with bright eyes and repeat them back.

Now was not the time nor the place.

"Are you okay?"

Penelope nodded. "Are you?"

Luke shook his head.

"That's alright," she told him. "I'll take care of you."


	26. Chapter 26

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Meet the Parents

He missed her. The office wasn't the same without her. Her bright colours and personality really made a difference to the workday. But he knew why she had to do this. She didn't need to explain it to him. All she needed to know was that he was a phone call away if she needed him. She knew that - she'd told him as much. He'd offered to fly out with her but had been met with a stern face. Penelope assured him she could do this alone - what she didn't seem to realise was that she didn't have to.

It was a few days later when he got her text and within two hours he was on a plane. He landed when it was dark. He got in a taxi, gave the driver the address of her hotel and spent the entire ride waiting until he could embrace her in his arms.

When he got to her room, he only knocked once before the door flew open and she greeted him wearing a pair of pink pyjamas covered in light green meringues. Her hair was loose around her shoulders and her face was free of her makeup. Her eyes and cheeks were red where she had been crying.

Luke opened his arms and she went straight into them, wrapping her arms around his back as she buried her face into his chest.

"It's going to be alright," he soothed.

"It's been a couple of rough days," she said, her voice muffled due to their proximity.

Luke pulled back slightly and Penelope tilted her head so she could see him.

"Thank you for coming," she said.

"You don't need to thank me."

Penelope gave him a soft smile and gently took ahold of his hand and led him into the room.

It was nice.

Luke placed his bag down on the bed and turned to watch Penelope as she subtly dabbed at her eyes with the corner of her sleeve.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Penelope shook her head. "Not now. My eyes are very sore from crying."

Luke moved closer to her again and gently pushed her hair behind her ears as he cradled her face. "You've been really brave," he told her. "You're an amazing person."

"I've spent so many years being angry and upset - and I don't want that anymore," she confessed. "He was just a kid and when I went to see him, I saw the regret in his eyes. He didn't mean to hurt anyone." She paused. "I wish Carlos could see that — I wish all my brothers could see that. They're all mad at me." Her voice got quiet and small towards the end.

"They will understand eventually."

Penelope shook her head. "I don't think they will… but that's okay. My parents would have wanted me to stand up and speak out."

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation.

Penelope's eyebrows pulled together. "I'm not expecting anyone else."

"I am," Luke told her. He released her from his grip and went to answer the door. Penelope craned her neck, trying to see who was there and what they wanted.

When Luke returned, he was holding two brown paper bags. "I ordered us some greasy takeout and some unhealthy deserts."

Penelope smiled and went to him. She placed a soft hand on his cheek and stroked the skin. "Thank you."

Luke turned and kissed the palm of her hand. "Anytime."

* * *

Luke held Penelope's hand in one of his, whilst the other held the picnic basket that she had prepared.

"Hi Mom and Pop," Penelope began. "I know it's been a while and you're probably wondering why… who am I kidding? I've never been to visit." He could hear the raw emotion in her voice. "I brought your favourite flowers, Mom." Penelope lifted the bouquet they had picked into the air slightly as if she were showing her. She spoke to her parents about the night they died and Luke felt his heart clench because he couldn't imagine life without his parents.

"I'll make things better with Carlos," she vowed. Luke squeezed her hand.

There was silence as Penelope wiped her eyes and Luke sniffed, desperately trying to control his emotions.

"I actually want to introduce you to someone," she said. She shuffled Luke forward. "This is Luke Alvez. He's…very important to me." Her eyes went to his. He understood immediately.

"It's nice to meet you both," Luke told the stone that held their names. "You raised a wonderful woman." Penelope grinned at him with watery eyes. "Probably the most amazing woman I know."

Penelope's breath hitched and Luke was grateful for the peace and quiet of the cemetery.

"Penelope thought it was a wonderful day and we thought we could have a picnic with you."

At his words, Penelope sprung into action. She placed the flowers on the floor, right in front of the stone before laying out the blanket that was on top of the picnic basket.

They sat on the blanket and Luke opened the basket and began to pull the food out.

"Penelope's thinking of doing a… 'technology fast'?" He looked at her to make sure he had got the terminology right and she smiled at him and nodded her head in confirmation. "I don't think she can do it - she's way too plugged in."

"I can totally do it, Newbie!"

The nickname made a grin appear on his face as he chuckled.

"Really? Back at it with the Newbie?" He'd never admit to her how much he liked it.

"You'll always be my Newbie."

He turned to the grey stone. "Can you believe she still calls me Newbie?"

"They'd call you Newbie too!" Penelope argued.

Despite being where they were, the air was light and cheerful and Luke had a feeling that Penelope might have just conquered one of her demons.

**I** **'m sorry this is late - I've been unwell for the last 3 weeks and ended up having to go to the hospital last week. Don't worry though, I'm recovering and feeling a lot better. I hope you're all doing well and thank you for your continued support.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Biased

"Thank you for coming with me," Penelope said as they climbed into the elevator that would take them up to her hotel room.

"You don't have to keep thanking me. I told you, I'm here for you."

Penelope smiled at him and gently reached out to take his warm hand into hers.

"Well, it is very much appreciated."

The rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence and when they got back to her room, Luke turned to Penelope.

"Is there anything else you want to do before we head out?"

Penelope nodded her head. "I can think of one thing."

Luke watched as she walked towards him and placed her hands on his chest. She looked at him through her lashes and that's when Luke understood.

"Ah - we have got a few hours." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, causing a giggle to bubble out of her mouth before she connected their lips together.

Luke let his arms wrap around her and pulled her body close, so she could feel every angle and plane of him.

Their lips melded together and very quickly they established a rhythm and it wasn't long before Luke found himself wanting more. His hands automatically went to her back before he pulled his lips away from her and cursed.

"What?" Penelope asked breathlessly, slightly worried that something was wrong.

"You're wearing jeans," he told her, similar to how a petulant child would say something. "I can't get you out of them easily."

Penelope laughed. "I'm sure you'll manage just fine." She pressed her lips back against his and Luke felt her smile.

He was glad he could make her happy.

"I'll get you out of them if it kills me," he mumbled.

First things first though; her jacket needed to go. He slipped it from her shoulders with ease and gently tossed it on a chair that was in the corner. His fingers then skimmed down the back until he got to the hem of her shirt and in a swift movement he pulled it up and over her body, reluctantly pulling his lips from hers to get it over her head.

He looked down to see her clad in a pink polka dot bra. "Nice." He commented.

Penelope smirked and step back from him. Her own hands went behind her back and in a few seconds, she was shrugging the bra away from her body and dangling it in front of him with her finger.

"And now?"

"Even better," Luke grunted before he went to her and wrapped his arm around her bare flesh, enjoying the warmth that travelled up his fingertips and through his veins. Touching her set him on fire. Her skin was so smooth and soft. He could touch her forever and never get bored. When it came to Penelope, he always wanted more.

With insistent fingers, Penelope removed his jacket and shirt and then forcefully pressed their bare chests together. Luke felt her nipples harden against him.

Their lips returned to one another again and Luke let his hands wander down her bare back to her jean-clad ass where he slid his hands into her back pockets and squeezed two handfuls of the delectable flesh.

Penelope let out a giggle in response. It felt nice.

She reciprocated and then moved her mouth to his ear. "You have a wonderful ass."

"Not as nice as yours," he countered, squeezing it more forcefully.

"You're biased."

Penelope felt Luke's mouth open in an argument but when she traced the shell of his ear with her tongue and then bit down lightly on the lobe, he groaned, the words that had been on his tongue forgotten.

She moved around to his neck and kissed, nipped and licked at the tanned flesh before her eyes. It fascinated her to watch the light red marks appear before she would run her tongue over them. Penelope attached her mouth to his neck and sucked, hard. She knew it would leave a mark — and she wanted to.

As she tasted him, her hands went to his jeans and she quickly unbuckled the belt, undid the button and pulled the zipper down. One hand ran down his back, her fingertips leaving goosebumps in their wake. Her hand slipped into his boxers and she felt the heat of his ass cheek against her hand and she gently squeezed the firm flesh.

Her other hand worked its way into his boxers and she was met with a different kind of firm flesh that was even hotter. Her hand wrapped around his cock and Luke's head fell back and his eyes closed, his hands clasped tightly onto her hips.

Penelope's thumb ran over the tip as she caressed him and rotated her hand, feeling the skin twist underneath her. She moved her hand up and down, his cock jumping and pulsing with every single second that went by.

As she sped up and both of her hands squeezed him, Luke's eyes flew open and his hands moved to her cheeks where he stared at her for a few seconds. His eyes gave away just how much he wanted her. They were dark with desire; glassy and wide-eyed, he couldn't hide what she was doing to him.

He pulled her close and kissed her hard, lips crashing together as she grasped him tighter.

"I want to taste you," he whispered against her, forcing her to release him when he stepped back slightly and then dropped to his knees, jeans, boxers and shoes still on the lower half of his body.

He didn't waste any time in undressing her but he didn't rid her of her clothes, he just pushed them to her ankles and then gently stroked her heated flesh with his fingers, grinning up at her and she moaned.

When he inserted a finger inside her, Penelope felt her stomach clench and when he placed his mouth on her clit, she closed her eyes and let the sensations of having this wonderful man between her legs take over.

The sounds of her pleasure filled the room but all too soon, Luke was pulling back.

He encased her in his arms once more and together, they stumbled to the bed, their clothing hindering them.

When Penelope landed on the bed, Luke landed on top of her and they worked quickly to rid themselves of their remaining clothes, jeans and underwear landing on the floor as shoes were shucked off and tossed across the room.

Luke settled himself between her legs and felt her hot wet heat against him… and then he remembered.

"Shit - we didn't use a condom last time."

Penelope didn't look the slightest bit concerned. "I'm on the pill and I'm clean."

"Me too." There was a pause. "Thank God." Luke kissed her hard. "I don't think I could stop."

"I'd kill you if you stopped," Penelope told him between kisses, her hands tangling into his hair.

Luke hitched one of her legs up against his hip and used his other hand to guide his turgid member into her.

Entering her was… bliss, heaven on Earth? Luke wasn't entirely sure how to describe it, other than fucking amazing.

"I love being inside you," he groaned.

"Good — I love you being inside me," she responded, moaning just seconds after when he withdrew himself and then thrust back into her waiting body.

They set a tempo and both were consumed with passion as their bodies raced to reach the peak.

Luke fell first. His orgasm rocked through him and every single muscle in his body tightened before the pleasure soared through him.

As his balls tingled, Luke reached down and pressed a finger to Penelope's clit. He circled it twice before her legs clenched around his back and she was crying his name out in pleasure.

When Luke had come down from his high, he rolled to his side, Penelope still breathing heavily. He simply grinned at her from across the bed.

"I need a shower after that," she remarked in a quiet voice.

Luke nodded in agreement - he had worked up quite a sweat.

She took his hand and tangled her fingers with his.

"Thank you again for coming out." She glanced at him and he smiled, bringing their hands up to his lips so he could kiss her knuckles.

"Any time."


	28. Chapter 28

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Glowing

Luke was sat at his desk, sipping his coffee, reading over the report he had written, not an hour ago, when he felt someone looking at him.

He glanced over the edge of the paper to see Tara sat at her desk, a mug of coffee in her hands as she smiled at him.

"What?" he immediately asked, his gut telling him to expect trouble.

"You're glowing," she told him.

"Thanks?"

"Who is she?" _Here comes trouble_.

"Who's who?" Tara was a good profiler and Luke tried to control his racing heart. He was sure that she'd pick up on his behavioural cues. But there was nothing he could do about the heat beading on his skin and the dilation of his pupils.

"The girl you like."

Luke wrinkled his brow. He didn't know how to respond to that.

"Oh, come on. I've seen you - skipping around, looking like the cat who got the cream. You've obviously met someone and they make you _very_ happy."

Luke had two options; flat out denial. He could pretend that there wasn't anyone and that Tara was crazy for even thinking that. Or he could admit it. That he'd found the most amazing person in the world and for the first time finally felt he could spend the rest of his life with them.

He wasn't a fan of either.

He went with a third option. "I have met somebody, yes."

Tara's smile got wider. "Who is she?"

"I don't want to jinx it." _And if I told you, she might castrate me in front of you_ _… and then never allow me near her again_.

"How long has it been going on?"

Luke shrugged his shoulders. "A couple of months."

"Is it serious?"

Now that was a good question. Was it serious? For him… yes. For her… he hoped so.

Luke nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, I think so."

He could see the questions bubbling up inside Tara and he knew he didn't/couldn't answer anymore. Not without giving the game away. Lisa and Phil were the only two people who knew… and Penelope didn't know he told them.

"What about you?" He was desperate to turn her attention away from him.

Tara shook her head. "I'm not looking for anything serious."

"Who said anything about seriousness? I have a couple of single army buddies-"

"I don't do blind dates," Tara told him. "I need photos."

Luke was already thinking of some of his friends. There was Jeremy - a behemoth of a man, who had a gentle voice and a love for anything sweet. They had served together for a few years before Jeremy left to pursue his true love of muscle cars. Then there was Gale. He had dark chocolate skin and a shaved head with bright blue eyes; whenever they went out he was never lacking in female attention. Women flocked to him and he loved the attention. Now he was getting older, Luke had a feeling that he was ready to try something… not serious, but more than just a fling.

His thoughts of his army buddies were interrupted when Prentiss came into the office.

"Have we got a case?" Luke asked.

She nodded. "Unfortunately, yes."

Luke placed his paper on his desk and stood, carrying his half-full coffee cup with him.

Tara stood and fell into step next to him.

"I know what you were doing."

Luke glanced at her.

"Trying to get me off the subject of your mystery girl."

He felt heat rise into his cheeks.

"I'll get her name out of you, Alvez." He had a feeling it was a promise.

They walked into the room and Luke was acutely aware of everyone's eyes on him.

"What?"

"Why are you blushing?" JJ asked, the case forgotten as the whole team wondered why the usual unflappable ex-army ranger looked as if he had over-used blush on his cheeks.

Before Luke could respond, Tara spoke up.

"Luke has a _girlfriend_!" She sang the word and the team erupted into cat-calls, whistles and open-mouths.

Penelope, who had been stood at the end of the table, narrowed her eyes at him and her lips formed into a thin line.

"Do we know her?"

"Can we meet her?"

"How long have you been seeing her?"

"Is it serious?"

Questions were thrown at him and Luke felt slightly overwhelmed. Thankfully, Emily stepped in.

"Alright, that's enough." It was said with a smile on her face. "Let's leave Luke alone and get on with this case."

Luke felt a sense of relief wash over him and he watched as Penelope's body which had been rigid, began to relax.

"We can question him tonight at O'Keefe's."

_Oh fuck._

**I** **'m now on Facebook - Princess Treacle - feel free to add me!**


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Safe

Penelope looked at her captors, her heart in her mouth as Reid was on his knees in front of her.

"I did what you wanted." She tried to keep her voice steady and control her breathing. In and out.

"You clearly haven't figured out that I'm not a woman of my word."

Those were the last words she said before Penelope screamed as the gun fired and she was coated in a sea of red.

…

Penelope gasped and sat up in bed as she felt two warm hands on her shoulders, trying to ground her.

"Penelope, Chica - you're safe." She could hear him. She could feel Simon's weight at her feet and Roxy' cold nose on her hand that was clenched into a fist on the bed, the blanket twisted between her fingers. She knew where she was. She knew she was safe. But it didn't stop the nightmares. It didn't stop the feeling of dread.

She squeezed her eyes closed tightly and when she opened them, Luke was staring at her, nothing but concern in her eyes.

"The same one?" he asked. She had a feeling he already knew the answer. The nightmares were always the same - they had been ever since that day.

She nodded and licked her dry lips.

Luke got off the bed and went into the kitchen. Penelope listened as she placed a hand on Roxy's warm head. There was clinking and then water running. Seconds later, he returned with a glass of water for her. She greedily drunk it down.

Luke perched on the side of the bed and waited - like he always did.

Penelope placed her glass on the side and brushed some of her unruly hair away from her face.

"She shot him. She shot Reid - just like every other time." She paused. "The blood went everywhere." She didn't like to elaborate on that bit.

"Reid is absolutely fine. He's safe."

"I know. But in the moment…"

Luke reached across and took her hand in his. "It's okay if you need to talk to someone about this."

Just like she had done every single time he had suggested it, Penelope shook her head. "No - I don't need to speak to anyone."

"I think you do." That was the first time he had said that. "You keep having these nightmares and I can see in your eyes that you're scared."

"I shouldn't need to talk to anyone," Penelope said in a quiet voice. "I work at the FBI. I see horrible things every day."

"Seeing horrible things and experiencing them are two different things."

She knew he was right. Sleeping felt like a punishment… but she wasn't ready to admit that to anyone yet. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

Luke got the message loud and clear. He got into the bed and gently tapped the mattress at his side, prompting Roxy to get on the bed next to him. He turned to face Penelope and in the darkness, she could make out his smooth features.

Penelope lay back down and gently placed a hand on his cheek as she rolled onto her side.

"I'll be right here," Luke told her. "You're not alone."

Penelope responded with two words: "I know."

* * *

She knocked on the door to his house (a feat made difficult by the basket she carried) and then waited. She felt nerves creep in; what if he didn't want to see her?

Her fears were calmed slightly when he answered the door, looking delicious as usual in jeans a t-shirt.

"Hey," he greeted. "Come on in."

She walked in and Roxy came up to her legs and began to sniff, her tail wagging behind her.

Penelope put the basket down on the coffee table and turned to give Roxy a fuss. "Hi pretty girl," she cooed.

"How are you?" Luke asked.

"I'm… okay." She turned and handed him the basket. "This is my way of saying thank you. There's stuff for you and Roxy in there."

"Chica, you don't need to thank me."

Penelope nodded her head. "Yes, I do." She stepped closer to him.

"You've been really helpful and supportive ever since that… horrific event." She shifted on her feet slightly. "And you can't be sleeping well with me jumping every night."

Luke put the basket down and reached out with his hand to cradle her face. "I'd much rather sleep next to you - jumping and all, than without you."

"You're such a charmer," she mumbled.

He chuckled.

"But I do mean it - you've been wonderful."

Luke's thumb stroked her cheek.

"And I mean it, you don't need to thank me."

"Shall we agree to disagree?"

He leaned in close and wrapped his free arm around her waist. He touched his forehead to hers and gently ran the tip of his nose along hers.

"We'll agree to disagree," he whispered seconds before his lips touched hers.

Penelope's hands went to his t-shirt and she gripped the fabric between her fingers as a sense of peace fell over her.

She knew that with Luke she was safe.

**If you haven't heard, I'm on Facebook (Princess Treacle). Feel free to add me.**

**I've also seen that we've reached 200 kudos on this story which is amazing. Thank you all for your support!**

**I hope you all have a good couple of days!**


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Carlos

"I'm really glad you're here," she told her brother as he sat across from her at the restaurant.

He took a sip of his beer. "Me too. You should have told me what was going on, Pen."

She shrugged her shoulders. "We weren't talking."

"That doesn't matter—I'll always be here for you… even if I am upset with you."

She bit her lip as if to keep the question on the tip of her tongue from coming out. But it was useless. "Are you still mad at me?"

He took a moment. Penelope wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

"I'm not mad and I get what you did and why you did it… but it still hurts."

"I didn't do it to hurt you."

"I know…" He waved her off. "Just give me some time."

"I will."

He smiled at her. "So… what else have you been keeping from me?"

"Nothing!"

"Are you getting help?" She'd told him about the nightmares… about the general feeling of ugh… about the dread when she got into the elevator at work.

"Yeah—I've found this therapist," Penelope twisted one of her rings around her finger. "She's really nice and understanding. We've only had one session so far but I think she'll help."

"Good, you don't ever have to be ashamed of asking for help."

"I just thought I was stronger."

"Stop it." She looked at her brother. "Pen—you are amazing but you can only cope with so much. Being kidnapped, threatened and God knows what else will take its toll on you!" He reached his hand across the table and she took it. "This doesn't mean you're weak or anything, it just means you're human."

Penelope's eyes began to water but she swallowed hard before clearing her throat. "When did you get so wise?"

Carlos laughed. "I guess it's because I'm getting older."

For a moment, they weren't siblings reuniting—they were siblings laughing together… and it felt nice.

Her phone buzzed against the table and she looked apologetically at her brother. She took her hand away from his and wondered who was disturbing them.

_Hey Chica. I hope you are your brother are having a good time. Ring me if you need me. Me and Rox are having a quiet night xxx_. There was a picture attached. Luke was spread out on the couch, Roxy had her head in his lap and they both looked content.

Without trying, the corner of her lips curved upwards into a smile and she felt her cheeks heat. He was shirtless.

"Uh… what's going on there?" Carlos asked.

"Wh- nothing."

Carlos looked at her and then in true younger brother fashion, he reached across the table and grabbed her phone from her hand.

"Carlos!" she quietly shrieked, not wanting to attract the attention of _too_ many other patrons.

"Woah! Who is this Pen?" He grinned at her.

"No one."

He studied her. "You're lying."

"I'm not!" She reached across the table to get the phone back but he leaned away.

"Yeah you are, you're a terrible liar."

Much to her horror, he smirked, pressed something on the phone and then held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Carlos! No!" Penelope stood up and went around to Carlos' chair, ready to plead with him to give her her phone back.

"I'm Carlos—who's this?"

She couldn't hear what was happening but Carlos nodded his head a few times, laughed and then hung up the phone.

"So… who's Luke?"

**I hope 2020 ends on a high note for you all. I look forward to seeing you next year!**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Ideas

"Why are you fidgeting so much?" Luke asked as he took a sip from his glass of water

"Because I'm nervous," Penelope hissed back.

"Why are you nervous? You know him. I don't."

"Because he wasn't supposed to find out about you."

"I'm your dirty little secret, then?"

He watched the corners of her mouth turn up in a small smile.

"I wouldn't exactly call you little."

A laugh burst from his mouth and he let his fingers gently caress the bare skin of her shoulder.

"Relax, _Chica_. He knows and we're dealing with it."

"Well, if he knows, the team could find out."

"You'll just have to not open any texts I send you in their presence."

"Or," Penelope began, leaning into him. "You could not send me texts where you're shirtless."

Luke was about to respond when Penelope leapt out of her chair.

"Carlos!" she greeted, wrapping her younger brother in a hug.

"Hey, Pen." As he returned the hug, look stood and straightened his shirt out slightly.

He was terrified. He desperately wanted Carlos to like him. But he didn't want Penelope to see how nervous he was.

"You must be Luke," Carlos said when he pulled away, offering his hand.

Luke took it and shook his hand. "That's me."

"Well, it's nice to finally meet the man who's been sending my sister topless pictures of himself."

Luke's face flamed with heat. "Maybe I didn't give the best first impression."

Carlos laughed and they sat down.

"So… how did you two meet?"

"Why do you want to know this?" Penelope asked.

"You're my sister. I need to look out for you." Luke could see a sliver of guilt in his eyes. He had a feeling it was over what had recently happened to her.

"We met at the local animal shelter. We both volunteered there, Penelope showed me the ropes and that was it."

A waitress came over and Carlos ordered himself a drink.

"How long ago was that?"

"Close to four years."

Carlos' eyes went wide. "You've been seeing each other for four years?"

"No!" Penelope said quickly and then looked at Luke. "As Luke said, we met at the local animal shelter and then three years later he turned up at the BAU."

She didn't want her brother to know that she had a one night stand with him, promptly left in the morning and then by some miracle he turned up at her place of work where they started a sexual relationship that was turning into something more. That wasn't something you shared with your family.

"Oh." He looked at them both and then nodded. "Well, I have a feeling I don't want to know anything else."

Luke watched as Penelope's previously rigid posture relaxed slightly.

"Except, is it serious?"

Luke could see the teasing glint in Carlos' eyes as Penelope's eyes went wide and she stammered.

"Relax, sis. It's your relationship and I'm not going to meddle."

Penelope shook her head at him

"What? I'm your younger brother, it's my job to tease you." He winked at Luke.

* * *

Over dinner, Luke and Carlos bonded over their love of flight simulators, with a promise that one day they would have a game together. It was a lovely meal and when they parted ways at the end of the night, Carlos made Penelope promise to visit more often. He even told her to bring Luke.

They say their goodbyes and as Carlos headed back to his hotel room, Penelope turned to look and wrapped her arms around him.

"Thank you for putting up with my brother."

"He's alright," Luke said as his arms found their way around her. "He just wants to look after you."

Penelope smiled. "I'm glad that Rossi and Prentiss called him. It's good to be talking to him again."

Luke pushed some of her hair away from her face. "I don't think he was trying to be horrible, I think he just struggled with your decision."

"I know." She went quiet for a few seconds before her radiant smile lit up her face once more. "But I don't want to focus on that. I want to focus on you."

"Me? Why would you want to focus on me?"

Penelope giggled. "Because I'm getting ideas about what we could do next."

"And what do those ideas involve?" Luke shifted his body so Penelope could feel his rapidly growing erection against her thigh.

Penelope put her face close to Luke's. "You." She placed a kiss to his cheek. "Me." Another one was placed on his jaw. "And a bed." Finally, her lips made contact with his.

Luke groaned and kissed her hard. "I like your ideas," he breathed out.

"Good," Penelope told him as she grabbed his hand and towed him over to where her car was. "I'm also thinking a car might work."

Her words took him by surprise and then he laughed, resting his forehead against hers.

"We'll make it work," he told her.

And he wasn't just talking about the car.

**Happy 2021!**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Idiot

Penelope bustled into the room, her laptop bag in one hand and a fistful of files in the other. "Sorry, I'm late." Her face was flushed and her usual put-together persona was gone.

"Is everything alright?" JJ asked, her brows furrowed in concern.

"Yeah, yeah," Penelope waved them off as she placed her belongings down on the desk and began to hand out the files in her hand whilst simultaneously pulling her tablet out of her bag. "Simon was sick." Rossi's face pulled into a picture of disgust. "And I had to clean it up…and—" Her voice trailed off and the team shared glances. They didn't quite believe her.

Luke knew the real reason, of course, she had spent the night with him and they had rushed to get ready this morning. She didn't have anything at his house and so he'd dropped her back at her flat before coming to the BAU by himself.

"Alright, well, let's get on, shall we?" Prentiss said, her eyes suspicious.

Twenty minutes later and everyone was exiting the room after hearing the usual phrase of 'wheels up in thirty'.

Luke knew he should be going to his desk, having a quick look over the papers before getting his go-bag from his car. But he found himself, waiting behind as Penelope began to pack her tablet back into its case.

Luke had faced down killers, terrorists, gang members, smugglers, maniacs and yet the thought of talking to this beautiful technical analyst had his heart pounding loud in his ears and his palms sweating.

"What's up?" she asked him, not looking up.

"I was thinking…" _Just ask her_! His inner voice screamed. "You… we—I…"

She looked at him and the words were there. They were roaring in his ears and dancing on the tip of his tongue.

"Hey, PG? Can you—?" Emily began as she entered the room, stopping abruptly when she saw the two of them. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Penelope said immediately, straightening herself out. "I was just telling, Newbie here that he needs to be careful today. Who else would I make fun of?"

Emily shook her head and Luke took it as his cue to leave.

He left feeling so angry at himself.

* * *

"You're an idiot," Lisa proclaimed loudly.

"I know." Luke didn't need to be told twice.

"Like a really big idiot!"

"I think he gets it, Lisa," Phil said, trying to save his friend the pain of being called more names.

"But does he?"

"Oh no, I get it." Luke sipped on his beer as Lisa shook her head at him. "I get how much of an idiot I am."

"Good, just checking."

Phil glanced between the two of them.

"So," Lisa began. "Why didn't you ask her to move in with you again?"

Luke groaned and threw his head back. "Because I'm-"

"Please don't say idiot," Phil begged.

"…a coward," Luke finished. "I was going to ask and then Emily came in." He paused. "But I was so nervous and then on the plane, I began thinking about how maybe it wasn't right."

Lisa and Phil were silent as they let Luke speak his mind.

"Penelope's always been more… reluctant in our relationship." He was trying to find the right words. "I know she cares about me but I think she has doubts and she's only just told her brother about us… well, she didn't even tell him, he found out… but that's another thing." He shook his head. "What if I scare her away?"

_There we go_ , thought Lisa.

"Why would you scare her?" her voice was quieter, gentler.

"I don't know. I don't know how she'll react to anything I say."

Lisa looked at Luke and she felt sympathy for him. He was clueless. She couldn't wait to meet Penelope and tell her just how much she had wrapped Luke up in knots.

"You won't know if you don't ask."

Phil sat back and listened. He didn't have anything to add to this conversation.

"Say I do ask, what if she says no and runs away? I'll spend the rest of my life pining for her because no one will ever compare."

"What if you do ask and she says yes?"

Luke was unsure. "I'd much rather keep things as they are than risk losing her."

Lisa disagreed but she could see that Luke's mind was made up. The best thing he could do was grow a pair and ask Penelope the pressing question on his mind; to move in with him.

**Apologies for the delay. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

**WARNING: Minor character death.**

Don't Leave

They were having breakfast at his place. Luke had it all thought out. He would state the case as to why she should live with him. He had his points clear in his head; first of all, they spent a lot of time together already, he was at hers or she was over here, they may as well move in together; second, his place was closer to work (only marginally but he'd take whatever he could at this point); third … he really liked her.

"So… Chica," he began, swallowing a mouthful of coffee. "I was thinking about the other day… when you were late for work…"

Her green eyes were bright as she looked at him.

"Well…" He cleared his throat.

And then the doorbell rung.

Luke's brow furrowed as Roxy went to the door and started barking.

Then a separate bark sounded from the other side of the door and Luke knew exactly who was intruding on his morning.

"Phil!" he greeted as he opened up the door and Roxy ran out to greet Lou, the two dogs jumping with excitement.

"Hey man, we thought you could use some moral support." Phil stepped to the side - yes, stepped, since getting Lou his progress has increased and he was now well enough to walk, albeit with a cane - and revealed Lisa stood there, holding some bags.

"I've got coffee and bagels."

Luke felt himself panic because this was _not_ how this morning was supposed to go.

"What?" Phil asked.

Lisa turned and Luke realised she recognised Penelope's car from the night of their date. "She's here?" Her eyes went wide and Luke could see excitement cross her face.

"Yes… I was going to do the _thing_ …"

Realisation dawned on Lisa's face but Phil just snorted.

"You can do it later, I want to chat with Penelope Garcia."

Luke's protests when unheard as Phil pushed past him and into the house, Lou and Roxy following him. Lisa gave him a sympathetic smile and a quick pat to his arm before she followed.

Fifteen minutes later and they were all seated around the breakfast table, Luke's heart fluttering in his chest.

Roxy and Lou ran past and into the garden which made Penelope smile.

"I'm so glad we managed to find her a home," she told Lisa and Phil.

"She's great," Phil said as he shifted in his seat to get a better look at Lou. "She's the reason I get up in the morning."

"Aww," Penelope fawned. "You should bring her around more often, it's clear that Roxy likes her."

All four of them watched as the dogs ran and jumped in the garden, their lithe bodies twisting as they shot from one end to the other.

"Will you be here?" Phil asked causing Luke to choke on the sip of coffee he had taken.

"Um… I don't know…" Penelope trailed off as she looked at Luke.

"I think what Phil meant to say, was do you think we could have breakfast together again?" Lisa asked.

Luke sent up a silent prayer that she was here.

He looked at Penelope's face, clearly she wasn't buying what Lisa had said but she was too polite to say otherwise.

"Yeah." Penelope smiled. "I'd like that." She gave Luke a shy smile before looking down at her plate.

Luke sent a glare at Phil's way but his friend just shook his head and chuckled.

The conversation flowed easily for the next twenty minutes until both Penelope and Luke's phones went off at the exact same time.

They shared a look.

"We've gotta go," Luke said.

Phil and Lisa both ushered them out the door, promising to clean up breakfast and get Roxy all settled before they left.

Penelope and Luke each took their own cars to the BAU with Penelope driving around the block just so they wouldn't arrive at the same time.

When they were all seated in the conference room, Penelope walked in, tablet in hand. She let her hand lightly touch Luke's shoulder before she went to the front of the room.

Luke looked down and smiled.

* * *

If somebody had told him that this morning would be the last time he would have seen Phil, Luke would have laughed.

Penelope's hand ran through his hair as the other one gently stroked the skin on his chest under his t-shirt.

He was resting against her, his whole body sagged against hers on the couch. His eyes were blurry and he had been staring at the same spot for… God knows how long.

Penelope was silent. She had been since he, her and Lou had returned to his home. Even Roxy had sensed something and hadn't been her usual exuberant self. She, along with Roxy, had settled on the floor.

Penelope had her head rested against Luke's and every now and then she would press a kiss to his temple.

"I'm here," she whispered to him. "I'm right here."

He threaded his fingers through her and turned his head slightly.

"Don't leave," he whispered. "Please don't leave."

Her arms tightened around him and in a soft voice she told him, "I'm not going anywhere."

His vision blurred even more until tears fell down his cheeks and sobs rocked his body so hard he couldn't breathe.

But Penelope kept her word. She didn't leave.

**Kind of a heavy one but necessary. I hope you** **'re all doing well.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

The Fallout

Things had been difficult. But what else could you expect when someone died?

Luke was reeling. But he only took 3 days. 3 days to grieve and inform the relevant people about Phil's death. 3 days to work out in his mind everything that had happened before he was back to work at the BAU. Penelope had tried to take the time off to be with him but he told her not to. Said he wanted to be alone. She didn't want to push him so she respected his wishes.

Lou seemed to be coping. Having Roxy and Simon as playmates helped. Mickey had sent flowers and a card when she found out.

Lisa was… shocked, to say the least. She'd known Phil during his darkest days and watched him grow from strength to strength. And now she wouldn't see him anymore.

She'd come over and hugged Luke, tears streaming down her face. As she left, she pulled Penelope to the side. She handed her a card with her number on and made her promise to call if there was anything she could do to help.

The funeral was nice. As far as funerals can be nice. Penelope went as well as Lisa. They watched Luke give a speech about his best friend. It was tear-jerking but Penelope wiped the salty water from her eyes and when Luke had finished she held his hand.

Before they went to sleep, their legs intertwined and her small bed crowded from the two humans, two large dogs and one cat that had decided to reside there, Luke had cupped her face with his hands and whispered two words. "Thank you."

She didn't need him to thank her though. But once again, she held him close as sleep overcame them.

When Luke returned to the BAU, things were different. He was facing a demotion. Penelope couldn't lie. His actions had terrified her. What if Grant had got to him? Holding him that first night, she was selfishly pleased that he was alright.

Part of her was worried that he would try and do something reckless to prove himself.

* * *

That night, when Luke stepped into the shower, she followed.

Her hands went around his back to his stomach and he leaned against her, her fingers a comfort on his skin.

"Let me take care of you," she whispered.

Above her, Luke nodded.

She turned him around and pushed him under the spray, letting the warm water wash over him.

She opened up one of the shampoo bottles she had and squirted a generous amount on her hand before motioning for Luke to come closer.

He did as she asked and also bent slightly so she would have easier access to his hair.

Gently but with firm fingers, she soaped up his hair, massaging his scalp as she went.

Luke closed his eyes. It felt wonderful.

Once she had finished, Penelope placed a hand on his muscled chest, forcing him to step back under the spray as she washed the suds from his hair. Again, she made him step forward as she applied the conditioner and then soaped his body up, cleaning him with the body sponge that she had

Luke let her. It felt good to have someone look after him.

When they got out of the shower, Penelope continued. She dried him with a towel and then led him to the bed, pushing him down before she got on the soft mattress next to him.

She pulled him close and snuggled into him, nudging his face into her chest.

Her fingers ran through his hair and lulled him into a deep sleep.

**I feel like we didn** **'t get to see Luke being really taken care of and wanted to rectify that.**


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer -** **All recognisable characters belong to their original owners. I do not make a profit from writing this; I simply do it for my own amusement. No copyright infringement intended.**

Ugh! Blerg! Fleh! Whatever.

"Ugh! Blerg! Fleh! Whatever. If I must. Where is he?" Penelope was so excited that Emily's words didn't register, not properly. She'd be working with Luke. Alone. In a confined space.

It was after she had ruined Rossi's proposal to Krystall that she felt… nerves start in her stomach.

She couldn't imagine how she would feel if Luke was going to propose and she found out—

_Woah! Stop there! She and Luke were nowhere near that level in their relationship. And she wasn_ _'t sure if marriage was for her. Besides, they weren't even living together… but that did remind her that she wanted to talk to Luke about something._

* * *

Working with Luke was… pleasant. He kept her on her toes and she genuinely enjoyed being with him. Banter was part of their relationship and it made her job enjoyable. She did enjoy her job anyway but sometimes it was difficult. There were times when she had to go to the darkest corners of the internet and stay there for hours, her eyes burning and her mind blank as she took in the horrors that some sick people enjoyed. Having Luke at her side made it more bearable.

Especially after today's case.

She had lost her parents, not like these kids but she had still lost them. She remembered the loss and confusion that she had felt in the days, weeks and months after their deaths. The fact that she had helped catch an evil man made it worthwhile.

"Luke?" she gently called as he packed his bag up. "Do you think you could come to mine tonight? With Roxy and Lou?"

He nodded. "Yeah, let me just go home and change, walk the girls and I'll be over."

Penelope smiled and watched him leave.

She drove home, quickly changed and then went into her bedroom to prepare the surprise that she had for Luke. It wasn't anything big or profound but she hoped that he would understand it's meaning and it's significance. She kept herself guarded. With Luke though, she felt her walls slowly crumbling.

Luke arrived about an hour later and she greeted him and the girls, kneeling on the floor as both dogs licked her face and jumped around. "Hi!" she told them happily, fussing their ears and chests.

Lou seemed to be doing well which was a relief to Penelope. She didn't just believe dogs were animals. She believed they were sentient beings and she was sure that Lou had felt grief when she realised that Phil wasn't coming back.

But now wasn't the time to be sad or grieve. She'd done plenty of that and she wanted tonight to be special.

Roxy and Lou both went off into her apartment, lying on the floor next to Simon's cat tree. He just looked at them from his perch and then closed his eyes.

"Good to know Simon missed them," Luke joked, shutting the door behind him.

He had changed into a black t-shirt, jeans and a pair of trainers. And he looked good. Penelope licked her lips. _Focus._

"Come with me," she said gently, taking his large, warm hand in hers and leading him into the bedroom.

He looked at her suspiciously but followed her anyway.

Once they were in the bedroom, Penelope turned towards her chest of drawers and drew up a lungful of air.

Luke's eyes stayed on her.

She stepped forward and opened the second drawer down.

Luke looked at it. "Um… what am I looking at?"

"It's empty."

"Yeah, I can see that," Luke chuckled. "Did you clear out all your unicorn squashies?" There was a hint of teasing to his voice so she reached out and lightly smacked his bicep.

"No. And by the way, I don't own a lot of unicorn squashies." She stood back. "I cleared this drawer out for you."

Luke's eyebrows hit his hairline as he looked at her.

"I'm not saying you should move in," she rushed to explain. "But I like spending time with you and if you left some stuff at my apartment and I left some stuff at yours, life would be easier."

She was met with silence.

So naturally, she began rambling. "I don't have to take anything over to your place and when I say 'you stuff' I also mean toys for Roxy and Lou and food and—"

Luke cut her off with two hands on her face and a hard kiss to her lips. If his goal was to stop her talking, he managed to achieve it perfectly.

When he pulled back and she could look into his face, she saw that his brown eyes were gleaming.

"I was going to ask you to move in with me before," he paused and a flash of pain crossed his features briefly before he continued, "Phil."

"I'm glad you didn't," Penelope admitted. "That idea scares me," she finished quietly.

She wasn't quite sure how Luke would react so when he smiled and kissed her forehead, she was mildly shocked, to say the least.

"This seems like a good compromise then," he said.

Overcome with emotion, Penelope nodded and rested her forehead against his.

**I** **'m thinking of taking a break from this fic for a few weeks just so I can get a few more chapters pre-written.**

**Also** **… I always thought that Lou was a girl and have written her that way so I'm going to keep with that!**

**Thank you for your continued support.**


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